


Deep Within the Trees; Under the Boughs & Blossoms

by candy_floss_consumer



Series: A Different Wave [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: !Update Schedule in Bio!, AHS; AHC Callback, And Feels Like A Diamond, And Not Just Copying the Fangirls That Were Around Her, And That Means More Than You Think, Books Do Not Hold All the Answers, Braids, Chakra Chains?, Character Growth, Childhood Memories, Cloud Watching, Complete, Counting Down Is Anxiety Inducing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empathetic Sakura, Even Without Team Seven, Frickin Love Hammocks, From OUR Shrine Keeper?, Genesis Haruno Sakura, Genius Haruno Sakura, Get it?, Guard Dog Pakkun, Hair-Brained Schemes, Hammocks, Haruno Kizashi Was A Pretty Boy 2020, Haruno Sakura is A Sensor, Haruno Sakura-centric, Has Started Collecting Other Genin, Hatake Kakashi Cares, Hello Blood Seals, Hey Kids...YOU ARE KIDS, I Seem To Write A Lot of Songs For This Fic, I thought about it not gonna lie, I would say sorry, If It Looks Like A Diamond, Is that LIVING FAMILY, Is that---, Japanese-Inspired Culture, Jinchuuriki Are Usually Imbalanced, Large Sensory Range Means TOO MUCH INPUT, Legends Surrounding the Shinsha, Maybe - Freeform, Memories, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, No beta we die like Neji, Orphan Haruno Sakura, Other, Pakkun Is Dog Uncle 2020, Parental Hatake Kakashi, Romance? Who is she, Sakura Figuring Out How to Emote, Sakura Makes Friends With the Giant Sand Demon, Sakura You Gotta Stop Shouldering Everything Yourself, She Just Doesn’t Know It Yet, Shinobi Are Not Immune To Clumsiness, Shrines Are Safe Spaces, Shuma no Mura | Villages of the Islands, Sora no Nami | Waves in the Sky, Starting With One Yamanaka Ino, Strong Haruno Sakura, Stunted Emotions, THEY CUT LIKE A KNIFE, The Chūnin Exams Continue, The Haruno Clan, The Shinsha Is A Place of Balance, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Trees Are Great Listeners, Uchihas Have Insecurity Too 2020, Umi no Rūtsu | Roots of the Sea, Viking Braids From Mountain Country, Vulnerable Uchiha Sasuke, We Got Em, We Support HEALTHY Rivalries In This House, Who knew?, Yet Her Brain Is Like ‘HRRGH!’, You’ve Activated My Trap Card!, but..., by the way, character flaws, heh, huh, it’s more likely than you think, this is why we can’t have nice things, which
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 41,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24177028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candy_floss_consumer/pseuds/candy_floss_consumer
Summary: In Konohagakure, a little ways into the Hashirama forest, lies a shrine. And in the barest of the morning, when the sun just barely rises on the horizon, sometimes you can hear it sing. Or perhaps, rather, you hear the living ghost of passed on prayers.“The land kisses the sea, oh lo-o-ove me. He hears Her lovely melody, oh lo-o-ove me.”[A Different Wave: Book Two]
Series: A Different Wave [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748218
Comments: 297
Kudos: 621
Collections: Real Good Shit





	1. Homeward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Though they are forgotten, the legacy of the Uzumaki remains."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are so amazing. And crazy. I mean c'mon - I had legitimately only four words up here for two days and a bunch of y'all came scrambling over with bookmarks and comments and—and love! I never expected this, to be honest. But all the same, thank you so much to @ pinklemonade123 ( * wink wonk * ), @najehoranstyles , and @Nobody for commenting about your excitement. To be honest, I was going to give myself a break for a week, but my brain was like, " Nooooo! Write now! Poo-poo brain might come later! Work yourself into the GROUND. " In all seriousness though, I love writing this series. I am so glad you all enjoy reading it too. As always, however: Please enjoy reading. If you don't, then please leave quietly. Thank you.

**_The_ ** forest hums softly. The wind ruffles through leaves, playing the branches into a whispering symphony. Birdsong floats merrily across the breeze. And lying quietly amongst thick tree roots, sprawling ivy, and various blooms is a shrine taken straight from the past. For all of Sakura’s half-forgotten memories, this has never been one of them. The * _shinsha_ has been gifted a blessing in that though it is fading into nature, the structure is not compromised. The gates leading up to the shrine still gleam a bright red, and the stone pathways are clear of dirt. Sunlight speckles through the trees, warming her skin. It is almost as if Sakura is being welcomed. That there was no doubt that she would return. It was odd, how nature held more faith in Sakura than she did herself. It was misplaced, however, as that trust belonged to a younger Sakura. A different Sakura. Flowers blossomed at her feet even as she thought this. _Or perhaps…_ They had faith in the person that Sakura could have been. The shinobi that Sakura was now. She releases a deep breath, placing a step forward. It had been awhile.

None of her footsteps make a sound. This was a fact even before Sakura had learned to cushion her feet with chakra. Back when the earth flourished at her feet, bending to every whim of emotion. Now Sakura strides forward with confident steps, perfectly safe from toppling over. Absently, she traces back an old path. The path where a much younger version of her toddled and stumbled around the shrine. Sakura passes under several more gates, taking her time as she takes the porch route to the back of the shrine. Sounds of trickling water alert her to the fact that the fountains still haven’t stopped despite the passage of time. Sakura is sort of relieved at the knowledge. Despite everything she’s gone through, Sakura will always love this place. It is evident in the way her hand reverently trails along the walls as she walks by, vines tickling her fingertips.

Sakura turns the corner and is greeted by the garden. A rather large layout covering more landscape than the main building itself, the garden is split into three parts. First and closest is the introductory path. A long rectangular area stretched horizontally from each side of the house. A path is paved with stepping stones and bamboo, streams and small rivers weaving around and underneath. The sound of trickling water fills Sakura with a peaceful feeling, the air clear and crisp as she takes a deep breath in. She sits down on a backless stone bench near the edge of the back porch, enjoying the gentle morning. Beyond the introductory path, split perfectly from the center, is the zen garden and the _**kago_ arrangement. Directly to the left, the kago is most accurately described as a fruit garden. It contains a variety of fruit trees and berry bushes, all arranged artistically so that the natural streams can branch throughout the ground. Almost like the veins of the earth, clear and crystalline. In the opposite direction is the zen garden. Rather than the sand being a pure light peach colour, it is streaked with red and blues, sea glass strewn about it. It is island sand, gifted from a faraway home. It is shaped cleanly. The lines from six years ago are perfect and unshifted. Sakura can almost imagine her cherished person methodically walking up and down the garden, teaching a small pink-haired child how to avoid the large stones that dot the landscape. Sakura sighs softly, breathing in through her nose. What she wouldn’t give for one more day in that beloved yesteryear. Except those are only memories now. The dead deserve the peace of passing. She looks out again, eyes trailing from stone to stone.

The path from the introductory area splits the other vertical half of the shrine’s exterior from the middle of the horizontal width. But it also continues beyond the west horizontals of the kago and zen, creating a winding road to the innermost part of the _***Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna,_ the _****honden._ Bold gates reappear over the path, disappearing into the foliage as the trees grow thicker in that direction. Even to this day, despite the years gone by, Sakura has never visited that place. The skin of her lichtenberg figuren light up across her shoulders. A reminder that she no longer has to, now. Currently, Sakura is enjoying a rare chance to herself. Ever since Wave, she has hardly been left on her lonesome. A fact she has never been more grateful for. Though it’s only been a few weeks, and they’ve only taken D rank missions since, it was nice to get back into the flow of the village. She had actually missed it, for all it shunned people like her.

Sakura slides her legs over to the opposite side of the bench, facing the main building. She walks over to the hammock tied secularly between the porch support pole and the wall of the building, contemplating her schedule for the next week. Tomorrow is set for training. And isn’t that a miracle to see. Before Wave, Kakashi was as punctual as a slug. Now the jōnin wouldn’t arrive at the training grounds unless they hunted him down first. A training exercise, Kakashi called it. Practicing both their observational skills and their teamwork. It didn’t… _not_ work. But hunting down a jōnin as a _genin_ was stupid tiring. Sakura lifted the _*****faix-futon_ off of the bamboo structure, beating the dust off of it with the mallet that had been leaned up against the wall. And then afterwards the insufferable man would make them run ten laps around Konoha. Not before stretching, of course, but still. Her thighs throbbed in pain at just the thought of it. At least he was actively training them now though. He seemed really determined to keep his word to Ino. Or maybe, to Sakura. She liked to think so, anyway. 

Sakura put the mallet down, lifting and sliding the faix-futon back onto the hammock. The mattress slides across the bamboo slats with a quiet shushing sound, fitting perfectly. Sakura reaches for the broom as her thoughts continue. On the subject of training, the third training grounds wasn’t too far from the shinsha. If she cleaned up a bit, they could rest here. Sakura steps briefly inside to retrieve a blanket from the trunk right next to the door. Early spring was unusually cold this time around. Not too cold to see your breath, but the air had a light chill to it. Especially in the shade. Sakura carries the blanket outside, closing the door gently. She carefully climbs into the hammock, adjusting the blanket so it covers her body from feet to neck. The fabric itself is soft. The scent wafting from it is a mixture of incense and the Hashirama trees with a touch of damp earth. Sakura is covered in the colours of ivory and winter green, trees she has known to only grow on the mountain islands spread across the entire border of the blanket. The center is a patchwork of ivory and green patches. A memory drops into her mind like a tear; a quiet longing emanating from Sakura’s echo. Old, wrinkled hands grip the fabric in one hand and a needle in the other. A small pink-haired child sits on the floor beneath the old woman’s rocking chair, a needle of her own in hand. Some of the stitches are misshapen and odd. Evidence that the two have worked on the blanket together. A grandmother passing on a skill to her descendent, helping shape her legacy with a loving hand. A childish voice sings, mixing with the grandmother’s tempered one.

_“The land kisses the sea, oh lo-o-ove me. He hears Her lovely melody, oh lo-o-ove me.”_

Sakura shakes her head and stares up at the sky, watching the clouds pass idly by. She quickly directs her thoughts away from the memory. While lovely, she has always had the childish fear that it will disappear if she thinks of it too much. So she turns back to her schedule, breathing in deeply. Once training is finished they will split and freshen up, deciding to eat at a restaurant or meet up at Sakura’s for dinner beforehand. Sakura usually brings lunch for the whole team, so they don’t have to worry about planning that. The pinkette still has yet to figure out Kakashi’s favourite food, but she will. She already has two out of three, and despite the man’s jōnin rank, she’s sure she can get the secret either out of him or out of his peerage. The wind moves the hammock gently, deferring Sakura from thinking any harder. _But that is all for tomorrow._ And today all Sakura wants to do is rest. Here. In a place she thought she would never return to. Home. A memoryscape she had thought lost to time and grief.

Sakura feels her cheeks wetten, but refuses to acknowledge the fact. Instead she closes her eyes, the hotness of her eyelids encouraging her to keep them closed. And so she does. She does so easily, fading quickly into a deep sleep. She is lulled into an encompassing rest by the trickling water, singing wind, and whispering trees. But most importantly, she sleeps with the signatures of her team safely within range. Their chakra pulses calm and normal. Nonetheless, the tears continue even as her mind tempers into dreams. First hot, and then cold. Welling welling up at the corners of her eyes and then dripping down her skin to her ears as her head sinks deeper, Yet even as Sakura sleeps, she knows. Knows that something is waiting to happen. Eager and absolute.

Team Seven never stands idle for long, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shinsha; (Archaic) Shinto shrine  
> **kago; 加護; divine protection (Main meaning.)  
> ***Shuma no mura-sha; Villages of the islands /-sha/ (A minor shrine in which a kami has been re-enshrined. As in, the kami’s place of respect was moved from the islands to Konohagakure.) | Ubusuna; attached to a shrine for the guardian deity of one’s birthplace.  
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]  
> ****honden; the innermost portion of a shrine. (Reserved purely for housing the kami with a mirror or statue symbolising them.)  
> *****faix-futon; a thinner, less dust absorbing futon. (Usually cut rectangularly and meant to curve along with the bend of a bamboo hammock. Functions as a mattress, basically.) [Personal Term]
> 
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	2. Six Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A visitor and a choice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my commenters, both old and new, thank you guys for your encouragement and genuine reactions to my work. I have been bombarded by love on both the first part of this series and this part, and I am so very grateful. I would label you all out by name but at this point, it's hard to tell when and exactly where everyone has commented. But please know that all of you who comment and read are cherished greatly by me, and I am so thankful for all of your support. Hopefully, I'll be able to list y'all out in the next chapter. For now, please enjoy!

**_Sakura_ ** almost can’t believe it. She has known about the Chūnin Exams laterally, but she hadn’t thought about it much. And why would she? Oftentimes it took a year or two for genin to even be considered as candidates. The paper crinkled in her hand, heavier than it had any right to be. She should've known something crazy like this would've happened. It isn’t as if she's unhappy with the opportunity, but something tells her there will be more to the Exams than what she’s hoping it’ll be. It was just like Kakashi to drop such a bombshell on them just as they were expecting a good day of training. Sakura would admit that as a team, she, Naruto, and Sasuke had greatly improved. But is that enough? Sakura isn’t sure. She leans back into the hammock, rolling her eyes as she closes them. Worse, she almost couldn’t believe that Kakashi pulled what he did. _It’s their own decision individually._ Yeah, right. Sakura had done plenty of research before her obsession with Sasuke got out of hand. Even she knew that it was mandatory to compete in the Exam as a team. _Especially_ for Konohagakure. Maybe her sensei didn’t actually know that detail? Kakashi had been a single apprentice when he first graduated, and even when he had a team he had achieved his promotions in the field. Sakura hums. She isn’t positive that that’s the truth, but she’ll settle for it for now. She currently had bigger problems. Like deciding whether or not she should agree to participate. She had fled to the shinsha as soon as Kakashi released them. It’s been roughly half an hour and she still can’t come to a conclusion. Sakura groans, abruptly sitting up and climbing out of the hammock haphazardly. Of course her ankle gets caught on a slat just as she’s out, pulling her to the floor with a loud _smack._ All the grace of a kunoichi her _ass._ She silently curses her old sensei as she gets up, holding her now smarting nose as it bleeds. Sakura leans her head back, hoping it would help like when she was a girl. Intead, blood drips down into the back of the throat and she coughs, splattering blood everywhere. Her grandmother’s voice snarks in the back of her head.

_“Did I ever teach you that? Of all the foolish things to do! Go get ice and a rag while I tend to my granddaughter.”_ It’s the memory of a sharp reprimand towards her father, and Sakura is beginning to think repressing her childhood memories also repressed quite a bit of good common sense. Something cold presses against her nose, but Sakura is to focused on her smarting nose to notice anything wrong at first. It’s only after a few minutes that she remembers. No one should be at the shinsha except for her. Squinting, Sakura opens her eyes with trepidation. No one, except for her and the _friggin ANBU._ The one helping her dons a mask that resembles a cat, triangular green markings around the edges and red crescents surrounding the eyes. Sakura has never personally seen this particular ANBU before, but his signature is familiar. Most likely a guard to the Academy, since the Third held the children of Konoha as important. And it isn’t like she could even kick out the ANBU. She would more than likely get her butt kicked instead. So Sakura takes a step back, holding up a finger so the shinobi will wait. She holds the cold compress with one hand. She then strides over to the handrail, gathering up the blood in her mouth and spitting it out. She does this a couple times before she can breathe properly and then turns back to the ANBU.

“Arigatō, Anbu-san.” Sakura says, her voice muffled and a bit nasally. The ANBU nods at her, silent. They gesture towards the porch floor, around the area Sakura’s blood splatter should have been. Instead, it was steadily being absorbed with a small flash by the wood. If this has to happen anywhere, Sakura was glad it was at the shrine. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to explain the vanishing blood without being investigated afterwards. Sakura clears her throat, wincing at the metallic taste left on her tongue.

“This is the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna, Anbu-san.” She says, as if it explains everything. Which it does, honestly. The Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna, while forbidden to all but the Haruno and those they gave permission, was well-known throughout Konohagakure. It was a festival place every ten years after all. The ANBU tilts their head to the side, as if confused. Though Sakura wants to be surprised, she isn’t really. The shinsha was well-known throughout the _civilian sectors_ of Konoha. It is no shock that this shinobi, especially as they are ANBU, does not know much, if anything, about the shrine. Sakura half smiles, channeling a bit of chakra through her feat and into the wood of the porch. Patterns of thin lines and circles light up at the introduction of chakra, revealing the network hidden to the naked eye.

“Protective seals are carved into the very foundations of this shrine. Because I am a Haruno, the seals sense the excess chakra in my blood and absorb it to store power.” Sakura explains, taking the cold compress off her nose and tapping underneath her nose to check for blood. There isn’t any, but she sticks the compress back on her aching nose just in case. She idly wonders how the shinobi got the compress seconds after she face planted, but surmises it must be a jutsu of some sort. A high rank jutsu, considering the precision and control needed to make just ice crystals. The ANBU nods then waves at her before flash-stepping away and leaping into the trees. Sakura still doesn’t know what they were here for, but she’s glad they weren’t an enemy. Otherwise she would have had to activate the shinsha’s other seals. Sakura is pretty sure that the Exam registration wouldn’t wait a week for her to wake from a chakra exhaustion coma. Not to mention Ino’s the only one who would have any idea where she was. If she didn’t check in at dinner, the boys would panic. Sakura leans down to pick up her scattered registration forms, drawing the blood stains out with a bit of chakra. She still isn’t sure whether they should give the exams a go or not, but that’s okay. She has until the end of the week to decide and she can seek out Sasuke and Naruto during that time to see what they think. She knows that Kakashi called it a personal decision, but Sakura discarded that option as soon as she heard it. For good reason. If they were to enter, they would enter as a team. Rules or no rules. Sakura heaved a sigh, turning a bit and looking up at the sky behind the treeline. Having another opinion would do her some good on figuring this all out.

**_Sakura_ ** knows that her open-mouthed staring is a bit rude, but she can’t help it. Getting closer to Sasuke and her team had erased most of her preconceived assumptions. But! This really cemented Sasuke’s change in personality since Wave. And Sakura thought _she_ was the one who changed the most. A stupid thought, considering she didn’t know everything that happened to her teammates during Wave. Her primary example of course being Naruto’s little rendezvous with Haku. Sasuke crosses his arms, looking away with his cheeks tinged red.

“We have to keep our cards close to our chest. Just until we’re proficient enough to hide our real skills. Then we can take the Exams.” The Uchiha defends his earlier declaration, as if his plan isn’t just to keep Team Seven together longer. They all know that once a shinobi achieves chūnin rank they are more often than not separated. They have come together as a closer team just recently, and none of them want to separate just a month or two after that. Sakura suspects that this stone cold Uchiha isn’t as immovable as he used to be. Because if she thinks about it pragmatically the Exams could give them an invaluable experience. But if she takes a different approach, it could also put them in early graves. Naruto speaks up from beside Sakura, looking at both her and Sasuke.

“Much as I don’t want to admit it, I agree with Sasuke-teme. If we get good enough to defeat high rank enemies with low rank jutsu it could lend us an upperhand in future battles.” Naruto made eye contact with Sakura, a pensive look on his face. “What do you think, Sakura-chan?” Seeing the amount of trust that both Sasuke and Naruto were putting into Sakura’s choice, she had no other option but to agree. Because to be honest… Sakura didn’t want to be separated from these jerks either. It’s been awhile since she’s opened her heart to anyone, and these three seem to have the highest chance to crack her shell open. Her echo agrees with a soft hum, speaking in Sakura’s mind in sync with Sakura’s verbal declaration.

“It would be awesome to humiliate prideful enemy nin with ridiculously honed low rank jutsu, wouldn’t it?” Sakura held her hands out for each of her teammates. Naruto grasped her right while Sasuke gripped her left. Sakura immediately notices that Sasuke was shaking. She strengthens her grip on his hand, keeping it in her hold. This decision would change all of their futures. But maybe, just maybe, it would end well. They all looked towards Kakashi, who was sitting at the end of the table here in Sakura’s small kitchen. He looked up from his book as he felt their stares, a closed-eye smile already present on his face.

“So you’ve made your decision?” Kakashi asks, though it is more of a statement than a question. Sakura clears her throat, glancing at her teammates. They all nod, looking back at Kakashi.

“If you’ll continue to be our sensei, Kakashi.” The grey-haired man shakes his head, getting up and moving closer. He holds his hand up in a fist, raised in their direction. Team Seven follow suit, all of them bumping fists over the table. Sakura smiles at her boys, a warm feeling filling her heart even as Kakashi chuckles and dishes out one of his famously dry one-liners.

“Like that would ever change you brats.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	3. Five Weeks & Six Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A bit of training and the shrine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super big thanks to @Hi!, @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*), @Nobody, @najehoranstyles, @HestiaFireSide, and @Gouorn for commenting on the last chapter! Your love and support is always appreciated.

**_If_ ** Sakura ever truly regretted this decision, her echo would never let her. But even so, as sweat dripped down her back and the sun blazed over skin, Sakura might feel a teensy bit of that regret. After they had all mutually decided not to register for the Exams the night before, Kakashi had summarily taken the papers from each of them and then burned them into ashes. There was no going back. And then the very next day, otherwise known as today, Kakashi came to them with a new training proposal.

“C’mon Sakura-chan, I’ll let you feel my paws after you finish,” Pakkun encourages her from his place on the small on her back. Sakura grunts in response, lowering herself carefully before pushing back up. She still has twenty more to go. Sakura does a few more before replying to Pakkun.

“Only after I shower,” she takes a deep breath as she goes down, pushing upward, “Alright Pakkun-san?” Sakura proposes. She takes the pug’s lack of response as affirmation and powers through the last of the push-ups. It’s the final task of the day after all of their physical training. Which included, but wasn’t limited to laps around the village, treewalking up Hokage mountain, learning how to water walk, and running away from the pack blind-folded. Pakkun hops off of Sakura’s back just as she collapses. It takes a second, but Sakura manages to roll over onto her back. She takes a deep breath, black spots speckling her vision before she closes her eyes. Her chest is heaving, and the sweat on her back glues grass and dirt onto her back as it dries. Sakura stops any of the grass nearby from reaching for her. She doesn’t want to take the plants’ weak energy just to revitalise herself. She can recover just fine on her own. Sakura opens her eyes, flickering from cloud to cloud as each of them pass by. Eventually, Sakura forces herself to sit up, moving to peel off her wrist and ankle weights. A hand stops herself, and Sakura can’t help the pouty look as she looks up to see Kakashi.

“I have eight ninken, Sakura-chan. Your puppy-dog eyes don’t work on me.” Her sensei points out dryly, pulling back once Sakura stops trying to remove the weights. Sakura sighs, using her arms as support as she leans back. She spreads out her legs, kicking Kakashi in the ankle a bit. She tries to blow a stray hair out of her eyes but gives up after it doesn’t work for a few seconds. Thanks to Kakashi’s new fan-fangled training regime, all of the genin of Team Seven has to constantly wear weights. One on each ankle and wrist, with the weight increasing every two weeks. Currently, Sakura is bearing five pounds while the boys have to deal with ten pounds. Sakura would have protested, but she already knew that she couldn’t handle more than five pounds. Because before, if she wasn’t as weak as she pretended, she would have done something stupidly rash. Sakura tilts her head and glares at the ground, wishing she could just teleport home. Unfortunately, her wish gets her nowhere. Her glare fades as she looks back up, heaving as she stands. Kakashi catches her as she staggers, supporting her as her limbs begin to feel intensely like jello. Though Kakashi sighs, he still hooks his arms underneath her knees, picking up Sakura in a princess hold. Kakashi moves, jostling Sakura a bit as he turns to face the boys. They’re both lying on the ground, limbs astrew. Apparently they had finished up their sets while Sakura was performing her jello spell. As well as Pakkun and the others reverse summoning themselves. She would cash in that paw promise later. She focuses back on her teammates. Naruto sits up, narrowing his eyes as he sees Sakura being carried.

“C’mon sensei! You can’t carry Sakura. That would be favouritism!” Naruto complains loudly from his place on the ground. Kakashi doesn’t miss a beat.

“It is favouritism.” Kakashi retorts, adjusting his grip on Sakura’s back and legs. Sakura herself blinks, not expecting the information. She’s the team favourite? She doesn’t get to mull over it for long as Kakashi begins walking in the direction of her house. She stops him with a small noise, patting his chest lightly with her fist in order to draw her attention.

“There’s somewhere closer we can rest at,” Sakura tells him, “I’ll direct you.” Kakashi raises a brow at first but nods in compliance. It doesn’t take long to make it to the trail to the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna, the boys following after them. Since the seventh training ground is already halfway into the Hashirama Forest, it’s more convenient to head for the shinsha rather than walk twice the distance just to make it Sakura’s house. The wind blows gently as they walk, the trees whispering as the soft gales whistle through them. Sakura leans her head against Kakashi’s chest. The air is cool against her heated skin, and she can already feel the shrine welcoming her. She closes her eyes and tries not to fall asleep. Naruto makes a surprised noise when they see the first gate, its vibrant red gleaming in the late afternoon light. It takes a bit for them to reach the main building, and by then Sakura is walking by herself. The front of the shinsha is backlighted by the lowering sun. One of Sakura’s memories layer over the scene, placing her grandmother at the open door. Sakura blinks and she’s gone. Sakura can’t cry here, however, especially with her team around. Luckily, Naruto distracts her with a quiet voice.

“Sakura-chan, are you sure we can come here?” Naruto asks, his voice oddly meek. Sakura glances at the usually cheery blonde, a confused look on her face.

“Of course Naruto-kun. I’m a Haruno, we take care of the shinsha.” Sakura explains, pulling out a kunai. She gives herself a small incision in her right hand, smearing the welling blood across each finger and around her palm. Then she presses it to the gate.

“It’s just—Sakura-chan—it hasn’t been open for years,” Naruto says, voice uncommonly wistful. Though the sound of the seals unwinding layer over his voice, his chakra signature pulses with the same wistfulness. Sakura wonders if Naruto had been at the shrine for the last festival seven years ago. Sakura hums, thinking about her reply. There is nothing left of her family in the shrine, not even their graves. The only things left are the things they once owned and the memories trapped in Sakura’s mind. It’s the fate of a Haruno, really. If they die in the shinsha.  _ To be consumed _ . But Sakura was done avoiding her home away from home. If her grandfather had been there he would have scolded her long ago for shirking her responsibilities like she did. Sakura begins walking into the sacred grounds as she responds to Naruto.

“I decided it was time to make happier memories here.” Sakura states, her voice carrying a nostalgic tone. Naruto stops protesting after that. Sakura sighs.  _ Happier memories _ . Maybe that would keep her nightmares at bay. Sakura falls into a grin and a laugh as Sasuke pushes Naruto in for being too slow. Naruto doesn’t fall alone though, grabbing Sasuke’s shirt before he goes down. They crash into the floor in a pile of genin brats. Kakashi laughs too, stranding to the side of the crash and making no move to help the two up.

“Teme!” Naruto swears loudly, scrambling to get away from Sasuke. The Uchiha tries to do the same, but they just end up tangled again.

“You were the slow one, usuratonkachi!” Sasuke insults Naruto, accidentally hooking his arm around Naruto’s as he continues to try to get away. They scramble for a bit longer.

“Agh!” Naruto grunts in frustration, finally pushing away from his teammate. Sakura watches the scene with an affectionate heart, once again vowing to keep this team together and safe. Maybe they were supposed to take the Exams and compete. And maybe Team Seven wasn’t supposed to stick together from the start. But if that’s what was supposed to happen, then Sakura wouldn’t have buried a hundred children in Wave if that was the case. Wouldn’t have burned the bodies, or thrown the named stones. Sakura’s scars light up across her shoulders, the branches of lightning reaching down her arms and back. If something wasn’t meant to change, then Sakura wouldn’t have experienced what she did. Chosen to do, what she did. And as they all gather in the kitchen, Sakura somehow feels like whatever path she was supposed to have taken getting farther away. As if she’s taken another step away.

Another turn in the path toward a different destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	4. Five Weeks & Three Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hair-brained schemes and sensory input.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the lovely comenteers @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*), @najehoranstyles (hello again), @HitchedKitten16 (welcome,welcome), @secondlandia ((> \- o)), and my returning champion of cheer and love, the amazing @Megami_Tsunami! Thank you all for your love support. Here’s a big chapter with lots of fluff and a hidden angst card. (Not yet activated no need to worry just yet.) Enjoy!

**_After_ **that, they ended up resting at the shinsha more often than not. The past few days, once they finished training for the day, Team Seven would all head off to the shrine. The forest sheltered them from prying eyes, the younger Hashirama trees naturally weaving together like a natural defensive wall around the area. Plus, the cherries, blueberries, and strawberries were all in season. So Sakura often went and gathered them as snacks so they could enjoy them while hanging out on the crosswalks of the introductory area. As they were doing now, their sandals stripped off while they enjoyed the cool water. They eat in relative silence, chuckling when the koi fish brush against their heels. It is a calming atmosphere. As Sakura leans back on her hands and looks to the sky, her mind wanders.

Kakashi isn’t with the trio of genin, as at the time he had been called into a meeting about the Chūnin Exams. Sakura isn’t sure as to what for, but she theorizes they want to use him as either a proctor or a security team member during the Exams since Team Seven had decided not to participate. The more she thinks about it though, the more she doesn't like either of the ideas. If they steal away Kakashi for the Exams, the training they refuted the Exams for would be nonexistent. Sakura hums lightly. _He can’t obey orders if he never heard them, now can he?_ A grin spreads across her face as she devises a plan, absentmindedly keeping track of Kakashi's signature. Luckily, her sensei is in range of her sensory net. Sakura brings up her thoughts in the bluntest way she can, figuring that doing so will get them moving quicker. She looks down at the water beneath them, speaking as her eyes track the koi swimming in various patterns around her feet.

“We need to kidnap sensei,” Sakura declares. And as she does so she realizes the fundamental mistake with her declaration. The absence of context. Despite the complete lack of further information however, Sasuke and Naruto seem to be completely onboard. The latter immediately perks up, glancing at Sakura with bright, sky-blue eyes.

“Do you remember where that meeting thingie was being held, Sakura-chan?” Naruto asks, not questioning anything except what their next step is. Sasuke, while not completely turned towards Sakura and Naruto, has perked up as well. His chakra bubbles with curiosity, though he doesn’t speak. Instead, the pair wait for Sakura’s reply. Sakura waits a bit, hoping in vain that the two will ask for further information. Even after a minute, they make no movement to imply that they will ask for context. Sakura sighs. She still wonders why they are so ready to sensei-nap Kakashi, but it will only help her in the long run.

“Not particularly, but I can sense his signature so that isn’t much of an issue,” Sakura continues, “I’m worried that they’ll try to integrate Kakashi into the Exam staff. But if he never receives those orders…” Sasuke catches on quickly, shifting in his spot so that he can see Sakura and Naruto more clearly.

“Then they can’t rob us of our training. Let’s move then.” Sasuke finishes Sakura’s thought process, standing up immediately. He helps both Sakura and Naruto up, then spins on his heel and heads for the main building. Sakura grabs Naruto’s hand, quickly following. They had left their supplies on the porch, at the top of the steps. It doesn’t take them long before they're all set, already leaping through the trees. They follow Sakura’s lead, since she is the only one that has tabs on Kakashi. Sakura stops short, however, as Kakashi’s signature is already moving towards them. They were too late. The meeting had already ended. They gather at the first gate on the path to the shrine, Sakura leaping from one of the taller Hashirama trees. She lands soundlessly on the top of the gate, sitting down on the edge, her legs hanging over it. The boys follow soon after, quickly realising why Sakura had stopped. They sit next to her, shoulders bumping.

“It _was_ a pretty wild idea.” Sakura says, still a little bummed at their failure. Sasuke makes an agreeing noise, and Naruto bumps his shoulder with hers again.

“Yeah. But at least we tried, ya know?” Naruto says in a commiserating tone. Sasuke tilts his head up, likely staring at the sunset orange of the sky through the leaves overhead.

“As long as we’re together, I don’t care what we’re doing.” Sasuke comments in an offhand manner, not even bothering to glance at Sakura and Naruto’s shocked expressions. Both of them have turned their heads, focused on Sasuke’s relaxed form. Sakura’s eyes are wide, her mouth thankfully closed this time. The words make her a bit happy, and she looks down at her lap to hide the small smile blossoming on her face.

“Is that why you agreed to my absolutely ridiculous plan?” Sakura wonders, directing the question toward Sasuke. The Uchiha hums a note of confirmation. A moment of amiable silence passes. Sasuke looks down, then turns his head to Sakura. She senses his gaze and glances at the Uchiha, tracing his eyes.

“You seemed excited about it. Am I wrong?” Sasuke tilts his head as he says it, and Sakura can almost imagine cat ears on his head, flicking in question. The imaginary ears disappear as Sakura shakes her head, scooting back a bit. The insides of her knees hug the edge of the wood. She feels more secure, and looks back at Sasuke to reply.

“No. I was excited about it. Mostly because it guaranteed Kakashi’s continued presence.” Sakura admits. Because in her heart, Team Seven is the four of them. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and her. Training together, eating together, _working_ together. She supposes her hair-brained idea to kidnap Kakashi wasn’t one of her best ones, but she knows where it came from. Knows that despite the walls around her heart, her team has already walked right on in. Ignoring her defenses and waltzing right past the sign marked ‘acquaintance’ and right into the castle marked ‘cherished’. Naruto pulls Sakura from her mind by tapping on her shoulder. ironically enough, she can sort of see a set of golden fox ear drooping over Naruto’s head, the whiskers on his face only completing the picture.

“You don’t really think they’re gonna use Kakashi for the Exams do you?” Naruto asks, concern shining in his eyes. Sakura shrugs, expression pensive. Truthfully, Sakura doesn’t know. Her conclusions come from personal observation and connection, so there isn’t any really solid evidence for them. None that she could viably connect without sounding like a conspiracy theorist anyway. She rubs her chin with her forefinger and thumb, thinking.

“It isn’t the likeliest option, but there’s a chance. If there aren’t enough chūnin in-village.” Sakura replies to Naruto, still largely lost in her thoughts. Lost enough that she lost track of Kakashi. As seen by the jōnin’s voice nearly shocking her off of the gate.

“Good thing there’s enough chūnin then, huh brats?” Kakashi calls up to them, breaking the quiet. Sakura yelps, jumping in her seat and only saved from falling by Sasuke and Naruto’s quick instincts. She mutters a quiet thanks, and the trio of genin stand. They make their way down, Sakura taking the lead. Once she gets in front of Kakashi she socks him in the shoulder, glaring.

“We were worried about you and yet you decide to give me a heart attack?!” Sakura scolds the jōnin, fists clenched at her sides as she debated whether or not to punch the grey-haired jōnin one more time. Kakashi gasps.

“But Sakura-chan, you’re a sensor,” Kakashi protests with a faux hurt expression, leaned back with a hand placed delicately over his heart. Sakura scowls harder, crossing her arms with a huff.

“I’m sure I’m not the only sensor you’ve met, Bakashi-sensei. We don’t monitor our sensory nets all the time.” Sakura retorts, muttering under her breath. Because really? When you’re range is nearly the entire size of the entirety of Konohagakure, you don’t always pay attention to it. Especially with the sheer amount of people in the blasted village. Sakura stops muttering once she realizes her team has grown quiet, and all of them are staring at her. 

“What? What is it?” Sakura asks, confused. Kakashi seems to be the only one able to retract his jaw off the ground as he replies. Albeit, a little out of it.

“You can sense almost _all_ of _Konoha?_ ” Kakashi manages, his expression that of someone whose brain is in maximum overdrive. Sakura has a feeling that what she thought was normal, isn’t actually normal. Again. She rubs the back of her neck, now feeling awkward and not at all indignant.

“Umm, yeah? ” Sakura’s tone is questioning, but her words are an answer in and of themselves. Naruto seems to have recovered by the time she answers this time and shoots rapid fire questions at her poor frazzled brain,

“Does that mean you can sense jiji from here? And old man Ichiraku and Ayame-chan? And—” Thankfully, Sasuke pyres Naruto on mute by pressing a hand over his mouth. This gets Naruto to see Sakura’s dizzied state, and he keeps his mouth shut even after Sasuke removes his hand. Kakashi grabs Sakura’s attention by stepping closer, a concerned look on his face.

“Sakura, how do you handle all of that input?” Kakashi interrogates her gently, his hands held up delicately towards her as if he doesn’t know what to do with them. Like he might break her if he tries to comfort her. Sakura tries to play it off as fine.

“I try not to focus on it.” Sakura says, her eyes focused on the symbol cantered in Kakashi’s headband rather than at his one visible eye. Kakashi droops, looking physically warm out at her reply. Sakura tenses. She has a terrible feeling… 

“That is a terrible coping mechanism.” Kakashi informs her dryly. Sakura bites the bullet.

“...It’s not a normal range is it,” Sakura asks, though she already knows the answer. Kakashi gives her a dead-eye stare.

“No. Not at all.” Her sensei confirms. Sakura’s breath still catches in her throat, and she breathes shallowly. Her echo rings with triumph. Perhaps she shouldn’t have tried to handle this on her own for years. Sakura breathes in.

“Well then.” She says, contemplating bolting. One look at the way her team has made a three prong pincer attack and Sakura pushes the idea back. She probably wouldn’t make it. Sakura takes one more glance around consideringly. Probably. 

“Let’s just get back to your house, Sakura-chan. We’ll figure this out after you get to sleep.” Kakashi takes one more step, laying a gentle, guiding hand on Sakura’s upper arm. A thought pings in Sakura’s mind.

“But, we were supposed to make _*sopapillas_ tonight!” Sakura protests. She had been really looking forward to that. Kakashi side-eyes her, getting a firmer grip on her arm so that she has no possible way of running. Sakura still keeps it as an option.

“I am legitimately wondering how you haven’t had a brain aneurysm yet Sakura, please for the love of kami just go to sleep,” Kakashi implores. Despite the fact that Kakashi only has one eye visible, he makes a terribly pitiable face. Worse, his signature has turned from smug to shocked to a churning mix of worried and anxious. Sakura can’t win against the insufferable jōnin’s puppy-dog eye and wilts.

“Fine.” Sakura concedes her defeat. Kakashi perks up immediately, scooping her up in his arms and turning a round to the boys.

“Good! I’ll summon the pack so you can’t escape.” Kakashi declares, immediately derailing all of Sakura’s back-up plans.

“Wait, what?” Sakura yelps, twisting out of Kakashi’s hold. She lands on the path with a bit of a stumble, recovering quickly. She puts a foot back, ready to run. Though she suspects she was only allowed to escape because her sensei was caught off guard. Kakashi narrows his eye before shrugging.

“Didn’t mean to say that part out loud. Oh well. Sasuke, Naruto, grab her!” Sakura can barely make an _eep_ before she’s collided into from two different directions, completely captured. Naruto hands her off to Sasuke, who in turn carries her in a princess-type hold just like Kakashi. Naruto moves behind him, most likely due to his status as the fastest on the team. It’s almost as if this is planned, and Sakura wouldn’t be surprised if it was. She had stayed up on more than one occasion since they returned to do jutsu research. None of them had ever been particularly happy about her lack of sleep schedule.

And despite how hard she _/doesn’t/_ tries, Sakura can’t get out of her teammate’s hold. The pinkette sighs mentally to herself. Now she was sentenced to sleep and cuddles with dogs. _How terrible._ Sakura sighs again, resigning herself to her fate. Until suddenly—

“But my research—” Sakura protests, renewing her struggles. They are already running however, the day quickly turning into night. Kakashi calls back at her with an unyielding tone.

“Good _night_ , Sakura-chan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sopapilla; A crisp, puffy, deep-fried pastry often served with honey or syrup.
> 
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]  
> —
> 
> Would you guys like it if I read this series aloud as a podfic? I’d have to figure out the exact details of how and where to post the audio, but I want to know if y’all are interested first. Comment your thoughts on it!


	5. Five Weeks & One Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Midnight encounters."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My eternal thanks to @YukiNagasawa, @bby_Dix, @essicity, @najehoranstyles, and @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*) for commenting! (And yes, sopapillas are absolutely delicious. I love making them.) Back to my usual descriptive work, here is the not-quite-introduction of someone many of you may have been waiting for. Please enjoy!

**_It’s_ **the first time Sakura has slept over at the shrine since she invited her team over, but she knows with a definite certainty that she is not the only one here. Despite the absolute chokehold her team has had on her movement over the last day, she finally managed to get away. She’ll return before sunrise of course, but Sakura is glad to be away from the stress and worry her boys have generated from being so strung-out. The night is cold, but Sakura knows that by morning the atmosphere will have heated up, turning muggy before dry and hot. She enjoys the cool breeze while it lasts, exiting the main building. The porch wood is damp and cold under her bare feet, but not slick enough for Sakura to slip. For that Sakura is thankful. She pads quietly over to the bench at the edge of the porch, sitting down and looking over at the gardens. The kago arrangement almost glows in the midnight atmosphere, seastone lanterns charging up the island shells lining the paths to each fruit tree and berry bush. The zen garden is an ocean of sand all on it’s own. The small stream bordering it reflects the starlight in a manner that makes it seem the stars themselves have been planted into the grooves of the sand. Trailing back into the introductory area, the space closest to Sakura herself, the streams literally glow from beneath the crosswalks. Their light peeks through the cracks between the slats of bamboo, generated from the seals woven into the riverbeds. They are strategically placed seastones, the center circuit of each seal marked with a singular moonstone. Their luminescence is only visible in the evening since Sakura had unlocked the shinsha formally. The small scar on her hand tingles at the memory, a quiet acknowledgement that she was now the caretaker of the shrine. Sakura shrinks her range once she is assured that her team is asleep, matching the end of her sensory range with the borders of the property. Then, Sakura completely looks up.

An unfamiliar figure stands on the largest stone in the zen area, but Sakura is not alarmed. She knows that there are plenty of foreign shinobi housed in Konohagakure waiting to take the Exams in a few days' time. So Sakura is not surprised at the foreign shinobi’s appearance. Neither is she surprised at his appearance on the shrine grounds. The foreign shinobi probably has no knowledge of the significance of the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna. Furthermore, the shinsha was first and foremost meant for healing. To honor its kami yes, but most importantly healing. According to Sakura’s grandmother, the kami of the shrine had instructed the Harunos to construct the shrine in this way. That is why the honden was built so much deeper into the forest. Healing first, honor after. And only if one desired to do so. It is no surprise that someone has come to the shinsha so late into the night. Especially since she formally opened the shrine, accepting the responsibility of caring for it. There were no seals activated to stop them. So no, Sakura is not on the alert at their presence. 

Instead, she dances around his signature within her sensory net, assessing the stranger’s chakra state. From what she can tell from his signature, the foreign shinobi has come to the shinsha to heal. The energies of the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna have always been balanced and peaceful. Two sets of chakra were at war in the person, and they were only settling here. They almost entirely shadow, the shape of a gourd emerging from their back and the moonlight glancing across their red hair. The rest of their shadow falls onto a portion of the zen garden, porous by the reflected light from the streams. Other than that, there is something familiar in the shinobi’s signature. It sort of reminds her of Naruto. Just more agonized. More pained, as if wrongfully forced. Sakura scoots over, on the bench in order to lean on one of the supporting poles. She swallows carefully, opening her mouth to sing. And as she does so, the forest leans in to listen.

“The trees weave their roots into ocean pools, digging into the sand deep and cool,” Sakura begins gently, the shrine tugging lightly on her chakra. She allows the seals to siphon a bit of her excess stores. Sakura sees the effects immediately, her grandfather’s sealwork bringing the story to life in a projection similar to that of a genjutsu. Her memory of a night so similar to this one plays at the edges of her mind, and gradually, Sakura is no longer the only one singing anymore.

“The daughter of the sky sings to the earth, alone in her sorrow no home nor hearth.” A feminine figure steps from the stars, her hand held to her chest as the illusion of the sea billows at her ankles. The foreign nin has an acute attention on the shinsha below him now, his chakra curious and piqued with interest. Sakura keeps her focus on the reflected storybook though. The shinobi could not hurt her if he tried. Especially with her network now connected to the shrine. Sakura softens her voice a bit for the next verse. Adjusting her position on the bench so that her back is up against the beam with her knees bent, Sakura steadies herself by setting her feet on the bench.

“She yearns for affection so sweet, she sings along with the birds as they tweet.” The silhouette of birds flutter from the figure, beaks open in silent song. They fly into the Hashirama trees, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. The illusionary sea pushes its waves up the shore with fervor, seafoam bubbling away.

“The land kisses the sea, oh lo-o-ove me. He hears Her lovely melody, oh lo-o-ove me,” Sakura's voice tightens during this verse, the bittersweetness of the memories it calls overwhelming her. But she continues despite it. She is singing this lullaby for a reason, after all. Perhaps it would grant them both healing. The sky drums from Wave Country’s Kaizoku Sea beat against her ribs. It is familiar both in the way she gave back the named stones to waves and the way her grandfather taught her the lullaby in the first place. Sakura keeps going, the words on her tongue not the promise that drapes over her heart but the next verse.

“The trees reach for the heavens with their leaves, the ocean storm blessedly interweaves.” The real Hashirama trees aid the seals’ illusions, seeming to stretch even further skyward. The tallest and oldest trees even plunge their branches past the bottom of the rainclouds. Sakura bids some of the Hashirama trees closest to the shinobi in the zen garden to weave a shelter for him. His signature feels of a glaring sun and dry sand, lending a hand in her assumption that the shinobi is from Suna. And more likely than not, they won’t be accustomed to Konoha’s rain. Sakura knows. The clouds are heavy with water and are willing to let go soon.

“The son of the sand sings his wretched melody, a melancholy sonnet that holds a terrible serenity,” Sakura’s tone is as heart wrenching as her words. This verse is the second to truly catch the foreign nin’s attention as Sakura almost feels their focus intensify on the scene being played out in the introductory area. A masculine figure emerges from the sand of the shore, his fist clenched to his sides as his chin is tilted upwards. Exactly according to what Sakura sings next.

“He yearns for affection so tauntingly near, he holds his head to the sky and feels the heavy tears.” It is as Sakura sings this verse that the rain clouds gently begin to weep. Though the clouds are opaque, Sakura can clearly see the sky beginning to lighten. It is then she knows. Once the song finishes she has to return to her apartment. _The freedom was wonderful while it lasted,_ Sakura thinks, not at all disappointed at the prospect of returning to her team. She breathes in deeply.

“The land kisses the sea, oh lo-o-ove me. He hears Her lovely melody, oh lo-o-ove me.” Sakura repeats the chorus of the song, watching as the figures of the daughter and the son stand across from each other. The daughter stands in the shallows of the ocean, the son now looking at her from his place on the shore. Sakura goes on.

“The rage of the sea strikes lightning from the sky to sand, tunnels of glass burn deep into land.” A crack of thunder echoes from the true sky, light grey storm clouds passing over the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna with a careful rain. The illusion slides down beneath the beach, following the glass as it spreads in a pattern similar to Sakura’s figuren. Her shoulders alight with goosebumps as Sakura notes the similarity. Sakura stands, walking quickly over to the porch steps. She is immediately assaulted with the ephemeral kisses of the raindrops, but that is honestly why she moves in the first place. Each drop of water is cool against her skin. Sakura continues to sing.

“The child of the ocean yearns for affection so often stolen, their eyes stung and throat swollen.” A third and final figure emerges from the seafoam between the son and daughter. This figure is that of a child, and Sakura remembers that they look different from her memories. Likely due to the fact that it was her grandfather who called upon these illusions. It was his voice and chakra that once orchestrated the lullaby to help Sakura fall asleep. Sakura wants to stop there, but she knows she can’t. She is a Haruno, and here she keeps.

“The land kisses the sea, oh lo-o-ove me. He hears Her lovely melody, oh lo-o-ove me,” Sakura sings, keeping her throat closed. It gives her voice a sort of stunted quality to it, appropriate for the quiet moment that follows before the last verse. The three figures gather where the ocean and the land faintly kiss; the son and the daughter hold the child’s right and left hands respectively. Sakura sighs faintly into the rain, watching as it trickles to a stop, the sky illuminating a gentle yellow after the rain clouds pass.

  
“Hear the children sing so desperately, a long forgotten verse: oh lo-o-ove me. They relish the embrace of the land and the sea, oh lo-o-ovely.” Sakura finishes the lullaby with a soft voice accentuated by the humming of the streams. They are full to the point of nearly spilling over, the signature of the koi bright and cheery. Sakura stands from her seat on the porch steps. When she looks up, the foreign shinobi makes eye contact with her. She nods at him and then leaps away. The leaves that grace her as she flies through the trees steal the water from her skin, a trace of her chakra along with it. It’s been a long time since Sakura has stayed the night at the shrine. _But,_ she supposes, _there seems to have been a reason for her return._ Sakura hopes that the foerign nin feels as cleansed as Sakura feels.

For the first time in many years Sakura doesn’t think about how much input she is receiving. Instead she slips back into her apartment. Slips back into the nest her team had cobbled together out of her extra futons, pillows, and blankets. And allows Pakkun to curl into the curve of her stomach, her back pressed up against Naruto’s. Her blonde teammate is blessedly warm in comparison to the coolness of the night. Sakura’s goosebumps shiver down her back and then melt away in a quick fashion. And just as Sakura falls asleep, the sun peeks over the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	6. Four weeks & Six Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Going from one extreme to another is unwise... 
> 
> | "And honestly? Sakura doesn’t know how well she will be able to handle how far away their signatures will be in place as large as Konohagakure." |
> 
> ...but what if she couldn't feel them at all?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My people, my comenteers, my lovelies in the francs, thank you so much to @bby_Dix, @YukiNagasawa, @najehoranstyles, and @Megami Tsunami! All of you beautiful people constantly commenting and filling my heart with love and inspiration. To all of you...
> 
> ...I am sorry. This one is going to hurt.

**_The_ **apartment is colder without her team. It’s strange. There aren’t any goosebumps lining her skin like when the heater quits in early winter. Neither are the plants lining her window sills stiff with cold. They wouldn’t be. Summer has just begun. Still, Sakura catches echoes in a quiet she used to call home. Despite this day being one of rest, Sakura only feels more tired. Perhaps it’s because she isn’t allowed to keep her sensory net open on a Konoha-wide scale. She can’t keep tabs on her team's movements, and that gives her a sort of anxiety she’s never expected to feel. Due to the hustle and bustle of the Exams, Kakashi wasn’t able to find Sakura a suitable tutor. There weren’t very many sensors in Konohagakure in the first place, but even the few that Kakashi did know were being utilized and were thus unavailable. So they had done some research as a team. Now Sakura has to limit herself instead of testing herself. It’s the first time in ages that her echo has been able to simply be present, rather than regulate the constant input Sakura had been receiving. Sakura swallows guiltily. 

Sakura sighs, throwing herself off of the chair she was sitting in. She heads over to the miniscule balcony that hangs out maybe two feet before turning back and receding into the rest of the building. Her ear catches the soft _plink_ of a waterdrop falling from the kitchen faucet. She has heard the sound maybe a million times before, yet today it rings in her ears like broken wind chimes. Sakura thought she knew what it meant to be alone. But something has changed. Like everything else after Wave. Sakura leans against the balcony, settling all of her weight on the railing. Were she a civilian, it would’ve been the only thing keeping her from death. It says something that this observation eases the sudden aching in her heart a bit. She closes her eyes, breathing in deeply as she lifts her head to the sky. Sakura tries to steady herself. Except her heart is honestly beating way too fast, in time with the _plinks_ from the sink which she wished would just _shut up._ Everything is too little and too much all at once and she wants to rip apart her skin. Tear it to pieces and leave nothing but bones because that at least, she knows, can’t feel anything. 

Sakura pries herself away from the railing, refusing to acknowledge the way the metal is bent. She can’t stop herself from seeing it, however. From seeing the way its reflection skews in the glass door. The reflections of metal twisted as if a hand of fire held it in its burning grip. The difference is that the metal isn’t melted in the way of fire. Instead it is bent and stricken through as if the claws of a beast have choked it clean. Sakura stumbles through the door, closing it firmly behind her and twisting shut the blinds. Initially, she heads toward the living room. She quickly catches a glimpse of the corner of a blanket and changes trajectory. The blanket isn’t hers. Naruto brought it over sometime in the weeks they had spent growing closer. Long before Kakashi had brought up the Exams. Or perhaps not long at all. Sakura scrapes her shin on the splinter of wood sticking out from her door. It’s likely that she is bleeding, but Sakura can’t feel it. Her heart steals the breath from her chest, running a mile a minute. She is probably breathing, but she can’t feel it. The sun burns warmly through the windows of her room, rays bright and yellow through her curtains. It’s mid-afternoon on an early June day, and Sakura’s arms are riddled with goosebumps. 

She sits on her bed. It’s stripped of her comforter and most of her pillows, but she knows where they are. The cotton linens are cold against her skin. At least, they feel that way. Except the sunlight has been on them for hours. Sakura lays on her bed, stretching out across stiff sheets. They aren’t, she knows they aren’t _—then why is she so cold—_ Sakura springs from the bed. The sound of the fabric rustling grates on her ears to the point that it _hurts._ And now her skin feels as if she’s rolled in _*fiberglass,_ red and begging for her to scratch at it. Sakura doesn’t. Instead, she crawls into her closet, her shoulders and hip stinging from her harsh fall onto the floor. Her hands rattle as she slams the closet door shut, an incessant _plink_ slipping once more into her ears. Maybe Sakura is imagining it. It doesn’t matter. In the wake of the closet clicking closed, it is finally silent. Her eyes are wide open. She is so, _so certain_ that she is completely still. Frozen. Her heart has to be the only thing moving in this secluded space. But the darkness is sliding rapidly from left to right, and the wetness dripping down her cheeks has splashed diagonally from the rise of her cheekbone to her bottom lip. The tear drops even further down, tossed from Sakura’s trembling. Her knees knock together, and she had to wrap her arms around them to keep from bruising. Sakura locks her fingers together, letting her head fall and rest in the cusp of her knees.

All of these things are listed detachedly in her mind.

Half of them are recorded by her echo, simple data to analyze later. The rest are the things Sakura can only think about. Things Sakura has ruined herself with simply by panicking too deeply. Even this is clinically written within her thoughts. 

Because Sakura’s sensory net is the size of her fist split in two, and it’s the only way she can center herself.

It’s two bubbles. One wrapped around her brain and the other her heart. Formed not instinctively, but habitually. A practice Sakura has committed since she was six years old. It’s been years since Sakura has limited her range this severely. She hasn’t been like this since she was seven years old. She had thought she was over it. That she had moved on. It seems however, it was a simple case of forgetfulness. A _terribly_ simple case. Her echo quiets the cherrywood door framed within her mind even as it screams.

_She’s forgotten what it meant to have someone, and yet still be alone._

**_Sunlight_ **no longer peers through the windows by the time Sakura stumbles out of the closet. She stands up on weak legs, a delicate hand grasping at the door handle. She flexes the muscles in her hand, but the handle doesn’t turn. Sakura inhales a sharp breath. Pressing close to the door, she slides her arm past the handle until the round end is cradled in the crook of her arm. She pulls her arm up and secures the handle. The protruding metal of the handle is cool against her skin. Like it’s supposed to be. Still, the handle doesn’t twist until she puts half her weight into moving. When the door pops open, she almost drops to the floor in surprise. Of course she expected the door to open, but she really hadn’t prepared herself for it. Sakura untangles herself from the door and stands on legs of porcelain. She stands there in the darkness, wind whistling, waiting. But the only sounds she hears is the wind whistling through the space between her open windows and their sills, and the rustling of leaves. There is no water leaking from the faucet from the sink. Sakura sighs. She sits down in the middle of the room, her legs crossing.

Gradually, Sakura loosens her limbs and lays out properly. Vines curl against her, and Sakura knows that her plants have overgrown their pots. The ones hanging from her ceiling, and the overhanging gardens that line each of her windows outside. She knows that the roots of her bonsai trees have broken the clay and wrapped around their stands with the tips barely grazing the floor. That the small cacti from suna have produced fruit out of season, and the sweetness lingering in the air is from the roses guarding the each door frame in her tiny apartment. Poison ivy is likely covering every inch of her front door, inside and out, wrapped most intently around the handle. It always does. Stems and blooms trace old patterns across her walls and floor. Despite the seasons passing, the garden of her home remembers the slivers of pain Sakura has never been able to hide. The slivers from the carving of her bones that slip through the cracks. _When Sakura was six-years-old, Iruka taught them how to spike their chakra._ She muffles the scream of her own chakra signature because if she doesn’t, the forests leave their posts. Their roots rip from the ground and split open the roads. A memory slips through the crack of that cherrywood door, but her echo carefully gathers it up before Sakura can think of the sequence further. She is grateful, and is able to focus on something else. Sakura streams her chakra from herself, making sure it is calm enough to soothe, and uses her sensory net to keep an eye on the receding plants. They curl back into themselves carefully, coiling within the walls of their pots, flush against the ceramics, clay, and plastic. Sakura bids the garden to return to the places she created for them, and they do so now that her chakra is no longer in pain. Despite their willingness to go, however, Sakura pays special attention to the ivy on the door, bidding the plant to take absolutely everything with them. She didn’t need a surprise for her next guest like last time. Sakura breathes in deeply, opening her eyes to see the sunset as a crystalline mosaic on her ceiling.

Her sensory net has snapped back, overtaking the entirety of Konohagakure. Three signatures shine starkly against the backdrop of everything else. Like three stars on a moonless night. Beacons. It calms her nerves. She knows where they are, feels the vibrancy of their chakra like a starved beggar. Sakura is overtaken by the sheer knowledge that her cherished people are simply and earth-shatteringly _alive._ At some point in the blur of the night, Sakura makes her way to the living room. She wraps herself up in a blanket from each of her teammates, snuggling into the pillow Kakashi slept on last. Its scent is distinctly that of fresh cedar and tanged iron. A whiff of woodsmoke is mixed in, bringing it all together to remind her intensely of her sensei. It’s comforting. Of course she feels an intense feeling of loss, but Sakura already knows what’s missing. It’s the warmth against her back that isn’t there. The feeling of a smaller yet faster heartbeat pressed up against her stomach. The way her sensory net can fit comfortably within the small living room, her treasures held safely inside.

Sakura fades into dreams of yesterdays and tomorrows. Where everyone is together. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto. Kotetsu and Izumo pop up at some point, cooking breakfast in her pathetic kitchen like they used to when she just moved in. It feels like home. And in those receding hours, with rain pattering against the windows in an orchestra with the trees, Sakura can pretend that everyone she had ever loved is with her. Close, safe, and _alive._ She’ll cry when she wakes up, she knows. When she has to leave her dreams to hobble through reality. Where she has to live in a world where half of them are dead. But for now it's okay. In her dreams they are here. In her dreams they are safe.

_“The daughter of the sky sings to the earth, alone in her sorrow no home nor hearth… ...oh lo-o-ove me.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fiberglass; Fiberglass, or fibreglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into a fabric. (Health effects from exposure to fiberglass can be different depending on the fiber size and type of exposure. Larger fibers have been found to cause skin, eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. ... Asthma and bronchitis can be aggravated by exposure to fiberglass. Limited exposure causes mild itching.)


	7. Four Weeks & Five Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Things are worse before they are better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hand to my lovely commenters, @najehoranstyles, @YukiNagasawa, and @bby_Dix for commenting on the last chapter. It feels me with joy to read your thoughts on my work, and to see that I'm probably portraying what I want to be portraying. And a bit thanks to everyone who has bookmarked and given kudos, even if you didn't comment. I still feel the love. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

**_Kakashi_ ** is already in Sakura’s apartment by the time she wakes up. Sakura wakes up exhausted, familiar fingers carding through her hair. The pillow from last night had been replaced with a lap, and when she opens her eyes it is to the view of Kakashi looking down at her. His eyes are shuttered, his chakra swirling in a mix of comfort and anxiety. Seems she really worried him. Sakura looks up at him, lips upturning in a small smile. All the while, her mind is already running to conclusions. It doesn’t take a stroke of genius for her to realize that her neighboring pair of idiot chūnin told him about yesterday. They know the signs. And no matter how hard she tries, she can never quite get the residue of the ivy off the door unless she cleans it herself. Her garden was always protective like that. Kakashi taps her on the nose, retrieving her attention.

“Shrinking it down didn’t work?” Kakashi questions, but they both already know the answer to that. Especially if the jōnin had been in contact with a certain pair of chūnin. Sakura purses her lips, unwilling to go further than her first response.

“You could say that,” Sakura replies, already uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is going in. Kakashi’s here, that much is real. And she’s happy to have her team safely back within her range. But there’s a price to pay when people start caring about you. And that’s the well-intentioned interrogation when something goes wrong.

“Sakura-chan, you disappeared from the range of every shinobi with a scrap of sensor ability.” Kakashi isn’t pressuring her. Not yet, anyways. Sakura can tell that he’s trying to let her come to him on her own. Too bad she was going to disappoint him. Sakura glances away, trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation before it gets emotional. She’s still a bit out of it from her episode. Sakura knows that some of her emotional receptors are muted, some of her physical nerves too. She murmurs the first response that seems applicable in her head.

“I’ll be okay—” Except it’s the completely  _ wrong one _ and Sakura knows Kakashi won’t be satisfied with such a lacklustre defense.

“Sakura,” Kakashi says seriously, the comfortable atmosphere almost disintegrating, “One of the best sensors on the village lives right above you.  _ That is not good. _ ” Sakura flinches, trying to shrink away. She didn’t particularly want to admit that. Sakura’s eyes flicker to Kakashi’s face again. She winces. It’s clear that her sensei is unwilling to let her run away from this issue, however. She tries to turn over so she won’t have to see his expression. Kakashi’s grip on her is strong though, so in the end she’s stuck looking up at his soul-searching gaze. She swallows harshly over the lump in her throat. And despite the fact she feels like she’ll answer, when she opens her mouth she doesn’t. Not at first. Not before a few tears fall. Not before her skin gets red and splotchy from her embarrassment when there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.  _ So why does it feel like it?  _

Because maybe there is. Sakura’s echo floats in the background, a steady reminder. No, not maybe. She’s been doing just fine on her own---why is she suddenly so important? She’ll survive any backlash. And Sakura has, so far. Sure the aftermath isn’t the most desired outcome, but she’s alive isn’t she? Sakura grinds her teeth together, eyes hot. She couldn’t understand why her state of wellbeing was so directly tied to states of her cherished people. She had already decided to protect them, and--- Sakura’s vision refocuses on Kakashi, whose expression is twisted in a pained understanding. A terrible, pained understanding. Sakura’s thoughts immediately stop at the sight. They die quickly and disappear, because all Sakura wants is for Kakashi to smile instead. For him to laugh, make fools out of her, Naruto, and Sasuke. For him to do anything but sit there as his chakra twists in a pattern she’s memorized. A pattern she herself has followed so many times. In the dead of night, in the closet just down the hall,  _ in a cold shrine where no one could hear her scream.  _

Sakura slowly gets up, and Kakashi lets her. To an extent. His hands circle around her wrists as she moves to a sitting position. And they stay there as she gets comfortable. Never tight enough that Sakura couldn’t break the grip, but sure enough that they wouldn’t slip away from a stray movement. She settles, her back pressed up against the couch, parallel to Kakashi. She doesn’t look back up at him though, preferring to keep her head tilted down. Sakura swallows, and this time when she opens her mouth, she actually speaks. 

“Yeah.” Sakura’s voice is quiet. “I know.” She jumps internally when Kakashi’s signature immediately darkens, churning with a sort of helpless frustration. She can’t tell if it's better or worse than before. Kakashi doesn’t give her any cues either. Time passes in the quiet between, and Sakura wonders at the hours that pass before Kakashi finally says something in return. Only one really skates by, maybe two. Sakura finds it curious that even the apartment complex doesn’t shift or creak. The only sounds are soft wind rustling through the leaves of her garden, and the soft  _ plink  _ of the sink. The latter isn’t surprising, considering the kitchen and the living room share the same open space. But Sakura takes note of the former. It is likely that Kakashi left the window open when he came in, but… No, there really aren’t any other options. Kotetsu and Izumo probably warned Kakashi of the ivy on her doorknob. Which makes. Each of them had been a victim before. When Kakashi does speak, despite his low voice, Sakura can tell he won’t budge. Not on this.

“If and when you can’t handle the range or input of your sensing abilities, you will immediately come find me, Sasuke, or Naruto.” Sakura opens her mouth to comment, but Kakashi lifts up a finger to silence her. “We will then contact the others, go to the shrine, and you will shrink the area of your range until we are the only four within it. Got it?” Sakura twists her lips a bit, eyebrows drawing together.

“But what if you’re busy or---” Sakura starts, but Kakashi doesn’t let her finish.

“ _ That wasn’t a suggestion.  _ Sakura you will do this or you will be stuck with one of the team glued to your side until we get more information. There are no other options.” Kakashi stands as he speaks, and Sakura follows if only to keep on relatively level ground with him. She protests again.

“But sensei---” The jōnin’s expression is thunderous at her weak rebuttal, and Sakura would have been frightened if she couldn’t feel the protective fury roaring through his chakra at the moment. Even so, the turn of Kakashi’s unrelenting presence into an unrelenting and  _ intimidating  _ presence does Sakura no favours. What little grasp she has left on her emotion is already wearing thin, and her sensei’s righteous anger only escalates it. So Sakura cuts herself off this time, finally understanding that Kakashi won’t accept anything else but the conditions he’s laid out. The jōnin completely hones in on her, his eye flickering up and down her trembling form.

“Genin Haruno, pick one. You either come to one of us, or never leave one of us.” Kakashi’s voice is overtaken by a commanding tone, the jōnin drawing himself up to his full height. His visible eye is narrow, the usual grey darkened into a hard steel. For some reason, that’s what reminds Sakura. What forces her to remember the reason she decided to follow her supposedly lazy sensei in the first place.  _ Those who break the rules are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.  _ Sakura bows her head, shame dripping hotly down her back as her cheeks burn. Why was it so hard to accept that someone cared for her?  _ Someone _ **_s_ ** _ ,  _ her echo gently reminds her. Sakura stifles a hiccup. She hates how her face heats up, how she can clearly feel the skin of her clavicle and upper back drip from anxiety driven sweat. Hates the knowledge that really, she shouldn’t be reacting this way. All Kakashi is doing is caring about her.  _ He is literally trying to keep her healthy and safe!  _ So why did she so desperately want to cry? Sakura swallows again, averting her eyes.

“Understood, sensei.” Sakura accepts the ultimatum with the last of her restraint, tearing up immediately after. Both Kakashi’s signature and expression gentles at her assent. Probably her tears too, but Sakura didn’t want to acknowledge that they existed. Kakashi reaches towards her to comfort her, but stops halfway as they hear thundering footsteps. Sakura glances at her sensei, the two of them knowing exactly who is stomping up the stairs at nine o’clock in the morning. The other half of their team. And of course they would appear, just as Sakura begins to cry. Because of course they would. Busting through the door with all the fanfare of an especially rambunctious gorilla. Sakura almost wants to pinch her forehead in exasperation, but she’s still heavily overloaded by emotion. As in, she is still crying intensely. They watch as Naruto comes in first, jostling the door before opening it with a shout. Sakura feels a hazy sort of regret until it hits her. She still hadn’t cleaned the handle…!

“Good morning Sakura-chan,” Naruto greets having yet to look directly at her, “We figured since you weren’t at the training grounds---” Naruto finally sees Sakura and Kakashi, noticing Sakura’s shaking shoulders and the tears rolling down her cheeks but little else. Sasuke, however, is the one to point it out. Because why wouldn’t he?

“Sensei did you make Sakura cry?” Sasuke asks, looking a bit awkward from his place behind Naruto. This of course sends the blonde idiot to his own conclusions--- which aren’t entirely wrong, but still---and Naruto goes launching himself at Kakashi. Sakura instinctively takes a step back, avoiding the flying body. Except that step quickly turns into a trip. Thankfully, Sasuke is fast enough to catch her before she careens headfirst into the floor.

“Bakashi-sensei! How could you?!” Naruto yells. Sakura sighs to herself, resigned to get yet another noise complaint. Considering her first one was caused by Naruto, she isn’t really surprised. But she needs to stop Naruto before he gets Kakashi’s skin irritated too. As it is, Kakashi will need to wash the shirt he’s wearing. From the way Kakashi is holding Naruto at bay, Sakura can tell that the jōnin knows this as well. Sakura thanks Sasuke quietly before walking back over to her sensei and her blonde teammate, smacking the latter in the back of his head.

“Naruto, are your nerves dead? Stop clawing at sensei. You have poison ivy on your hands.” Sakura informs the blonde as she drags him back by the collar of his shirt. Naruto immediately freezes, snapping his arms back from attacking their sensei. Not that it particularly did much. Sakura is a little happy that Naruto would leap to her defense like that, but not when he basically has itch powder all over his hands.

“But how?!” Naruto wails, instantly quieting at Sakura and Sasuke’s combined glares. They had reminded the Uzumaki more than once that Sakura wasn’t the only one that lived here. Naruto winces sheepishly,  _ just  _ stopping himself from rubbing the back of his neck. Sakura sighs.

“My door. I’ll explain further later. Just don’t touch anything else while I get the ointment.” Sakura orders, about to spin on her heel.

  
“Mkay, Sakura-chan.” Naruto agrees easily, keeping his hands elevated and away from anyone’s exposed skin. Sakura blinks a bit. Unexpected, but welcomed. As she walks to the kitchen cabinets to get the ointment, Sakura never realizes.  _ She didn’t pick an option. _


	8. Four Weeks, Five Days, & A Few Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And these nights in-between."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the recipients of my grateful tears, thank you @YukiNagasawa, @najehoranstyles, @TotallyNotASquid, @Stella_The_Person, and @Lioness098 for commenting on the previous chapter. This one is nearly 3k because my motivation died before I could write the rest of this week's Wednesday and Thursday updates before revitalizing at midnight this morning. I hope you enjoy it!

**_The_ ** signature grazing the edges of her sensory net is a familiar one. Sakura lies at the edge of the nest of pillows and blankets as she focuses on it, pinging the shinsha’s sealwork to stop the forest from keeping them away. Her team is curled around each other in the thick of the nest, and Pakkun is a steady warmth against the small of her back. She is _so_ grateful that they have returned. And she wants to stay. Except wind whispers for her to go. Rustling the leaves of her garden and prodding her chakra. There is someone at the shrine. Someone in need of help. Sakura breathes quietly, taking in the moment. This moment between her duties and her duress, Between the obligations of day and expectation of night. But the flora is insistent, travelling vines curling softly against her exposed skin. She is exhausted, but Sakura is a Haruno. A keeper of the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna. So she sits up, cushioning her skin with the thinnest layer of chakra she can manage and leaves her apartment.

Sakura is light on her feet. A skill her natural inclination aided in honing, and perfect for her midnight dalliance. She skips barefooted across tiled rooftops with nary a sound, ignoring the short pricks of small rocks and chipped ceramics. They are inconsequential, in the end. And she keeps going, straight from one roof to the nearest Hashirama tree. Her eyes immediately catch sight of the older saplings torn to their roots. Lightning has charred their flesh and bark yet they thrive in their injury. The scattered pieces already planting themselves where they have flown, their chakra maintains familiarity. Their energy bounces at Sakura’s arrival, and the forest greets her as she enters. Eventually Sakura reaches the path, marked by the first gate whose shadows appear like dried blood. She leaps from her latest tree, stepping carefully across the broken trees that have fallen onto the path. 

There are splinters in her feet as she walks, the wood stabbing her flesh as she trails deeper into the Hashirama Forest. The stickiness of the blood she feels plastered on the bottoms of her feet can’t be seen on the path, however. Nature is greedy, and it consumes the scraps of her eagerly. Sakura knows that this is in part due to her episode the night before. The event that wrenched lightning from the sky and thrust it into the forest. The panic and fear that gripped her to the point that her garden had to struggle for air. Sakura walks on bloodied feet, knowing that when a flower wilts the entire field is then stricken with concern. It is why she is quiet. Why her echo keeps the plants from blinding towards her. Keeps them from blooming plush at her feet for the world to see. _Sakura is civilian-born; she knows what it means to be hunted._ The ferns that line the path lean into her presence, and Sakura allows the corona of her chakra centre to billow out. No one can sense her in this forest, especially as the shinsha comes into view.

At midnight, the path to the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna is dark and shadowed. The main building itself, however, glows from the sea stones embedded into it. Sakura sees the soft sea-green light and follows the series of stones, up the shrine’s steps and around the wrap-around porch towards the back. From her estimates, the signature of that foreign nin is placed in the same spot. Which likely means they are on the same stone within the zen garden. Her theory is confirmed once she rounds the corner, the shadowed gourd on the shinobi’s back an ever-present marker. She sits down on the same bench as that night, leaning against the same pillar to rest. The only differences are the lack of rain and the cuts newly struck onto her feet. Sakura looks out at the area below her, tracing the familiarity of it. As before, the sea stones that line the rivers and streams give off soft, muted glows. The gentle blooms of turquoise light bounce off of the flora of the kago arrangement. At the same time the water that surrounds the zen garden projects the light of the sea stones into the edges of the sand. The light that illuminates the show fades into a shadowed teal as they nestle into the divots of the sand a bit further in. The sounds of flowing water and brushing leaves almost lull Sakura to sleep. Nothing can hurt her here.

She is so confident in this that she does not startle. Not even when the foreign nin melts from the stone like a pillar of stand, their signature and presence building back up next to her on the bench. She doesn’t look at them either, leaving her eyes to rest on the introduction area, the maze of bamboo crosswalks and river paths a mellow sight. The stranger says nothing at her action. Or rather, inaction. Instead they sit in silence next to Sakura, whittling the midnight hour away in the protective quiet of the shrine. Sakura herself can feel that the two energies once warring within the shinobi have since faded, instead circling each other in the added space the shinsha provides. Both are wary, curious, and yet slightly understanding. As if they can comprehend that it is the shinsha that affords them the room to heal, but not how or why. Sakura was the same once. _Before she ran away from cold, cold bodies as the wood rose to consume them._ At some point in the graces of the early morning, Sakura begins to hum. The same song as that night with the words playing in her head.

_‘The trees weave their roots into ocean pools, digging into the sand deep and cool.’_

The lullaby is much different than the burning rites, and for that Sakura is grateful. As she hums the ash and blood fade from her hands. There is no death in the quiet melody, the deep soprano of her mother’s voice washing the thoughts away. The rough, croaking voice of her grandmother shielding her from the sting of ozone and the hardness of the named stones. Because no matter what Sakura gained from Wave, it hurt to remember it. _She remembered it every day._ Even so, the lullaby takes care to calm Sakura, to keep her ensconced in warmth and love. Despite the chill of the night. Most importantly, no matter how many times Sakura sings the song, she can never go without hearing her family sing it along with her. That is why Sakura didn’t sing. Not until Wave. Not until that cool, moonlit morning. The foreign nin at her side breaks the quiet once the sun peeks. They do so by asking her a simple question in a tenor voice, one suiting a boy about Sakura’s age.

“What is this place?” The shinobi’s chakra is purely that of curiosity, no malevolence staining it in any way. She is glad for it, but will still only answer with information easily found by looking around Konohagakure’s public space. He is, after all, a foerign nin here to compete within the Exams. Perhaps there is a sort of intelligence gathering phase? Sakura doesn’t know for sure, but the Exams aren’t particularly important right now. What is important is the boy next to her, and his healing. Sakura releases a small breath, relishing the cool air that envelops her lungs in return.

“A shrine,” Sakura replies, “Do they not have them in Suna?” Sakura’s question garners a quick, but awkward reply. It lends to the sense of genuinity within the air between them. Sakura’s chakra’s sensing abilities allow her to pick up on the shinobi’s sincerity. She waits the few seconds as the portion of chakra that clearly belongs to the boy blinks with thought.

“They do,” the shinobi says, his voice oddly stilted, “Just nothing like this one.” Sakura hums, already knowing what the answer would be. The only hidden village that no longer has a shrin is Uzushio, and that is because it fell to ruin. Based on the awkward fluctuations of his chakra, Sakura can guess that the boy is unused to conversation. And probably doesn’t really know how to direct the one they are having. Sakura hums again, keeping her eyes on the scenes before them.

“Ah. Yet in Konohagakure?” It is as much of a simple curiosity as a subtle interrogation. Depending on his reply, Sakura will know whether he explored Konoha in the time she was gone.

“There are two other places like this, but…” _They are not alive like this one._ Sakura can hear the unfinished sentence. She knows why. The Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna is but one piece of a triad. But Sakura is the only one left. The other shrines will likely remain closed until she dies. _She cannot teach her children._ What scares her are the centuries that might await her. It is highly unlikely that the kami will allow the shinsha to fall. Not even after tragedies like Uzushio. Sakura flickers her gaze, focusing on the schools of koi travelling some of the streams closest in her range of vision.

“This shrine is one of healing,” Sakura tracks a koi fish as it swims, “But you know that already.” Sand slithers onto her hand, gentle and warm. Sakura immediately feels the goosebumps prickling on her arms recede. She hadn’t realized. The shinobi makes no acknowledgement of the gesture. And Sakura knows that it is him, because the sand is being manipulated by his dual chakra, rippling within her sensory net. The sand spreads thinly across her skin, like a second protective layer that shields her from the chill of the early morning. She is grateful even as she is wondering. The boy continues, still silent about the sand sheltering her.

“Yes.” He is quiet for a moment. “Why does nobody come here?” Sakura can tell that the shinobi really is curious, and she answers even as she keeps her eyes from glancing at the shinobi. She does not need to see him in order to know how he reacts to her. Plus, he clearly did not care to be seen. Otherwise he would have walked up to her straight, instead of melting into the shadows and appearing next to her. Sakura swallows, clearing her throat in order to speak.

“Part of the reason is the legends. The bulk of the reason is that I forbid them.” Sakura answers. And it is true. She has never opened the grounds publicly since the death of her family. No matter how many ‘well-intentioned’ people asked her to let them help. These shrines belong to the Haruno, and not even the Hokage or the Fire Daimyo can try to take it from her. They have tried. Only to fail when the forests lashed out at them. It is obvious she is only open to discussing the first part of her answer, though the shinobi seems unconcerned with the latter. It makes Sakura laugh a bit on the inside, because technically, the foerign nin is also forbidden to enter. Yet here he is. His chakra bounces in question.

“Legends?” The shinobi prods, his voice an odd mix of monotone and curious. Sakura loses track of the koi she had been following as she answers.

“They say that the bijū swore to protect the original shrine back on the islands.” She turns her head, “Some are afraid that the bijū will come back to make sure of that promise.” Both the shinobi’s hair and a tattoo she had been unable to notice at a distance gleam red in the hint of light. The tattoo is a distinct kanji, reading a singular word that honestly sort of breaks Sakura’s heart. Because as kind as the shinobi has been to her, that tattoo is carved into his skin. She can tell that the red ink sits lower than the rest of his skin. As if he was first branded, and _then_ someone traced the scars with blood. Sakura keeps her gaze connected with the foerign nin’s as she refuses to focus on the tattoo as he further questions her.

“You mean the tailed-beasts?” Sakura nods, turning back to the introductory area once she reads his face. A bird calls loudly in the distance, its shadow fleeing across the sky and into the thick clouds. They will likely thin and disperse by late morning. Sakura tries to recognize the sound even as she responds.

“Of course. The original Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna was built on the island of their birthplace.” She says it simply, as if there is no other possible answer. There isn’t. The origins of the shinsha are carved into the seals of its soul, evident in every nuance of the place.

“Why was it moved?” His voice has an odd tinge to it as he asks her the question, but Sakura can’t discern what it is. She supposes she does not particularly need to know.

“The slaughter of Uzushio. After the burning rites were completed, the kami bid the survivors to relocate the shrine.” The shinobi is quiet for a moment, and Sakura can feel the dual chakras poking at each other. Almost as if they are talking.

“What is your name?” The shinobi finally asks. And perhaps she should be more secretive with her answer, or only answer with her given name, but this shinobi is healing here. His presence is calm, and the sand against her skin is blessedly warm. It covers all of her exposed skin from the bottoms of her feet to the crown of her head. And maybe this should frighten her, but the shinobi is kind. Hurting, but kind. Somewhere deep within her instincts she knows that he won’t harm her. So when she replies she is honest.

“Haruno Sakura. I am the keeper of the shrines.” The second chakra, the one that had been crammed against the shinobi’s that first night, balks at her reply. As if it cannot fathom why _she_ is the keeper. It makes her both curious and a little more certain of her theory about the shinobi. Her theory of what he is, and who he contains.

“But you are so young—what about the elders?” This question does not come from the boy, but instead the other chakra that inhabits his body. Sakura maintains her odd feeling about the other chakra, but cannot figure out anything concrete. Her voice is small as she speaks.

“There is only me.” Sakura takes a deep breath. “And yours?” She upturns her tone in a questioning manner for the last two words. The shinobi knows her name now. It is only right for her to gain his in return.

“My name?” The shinobi asks for clarification. Sakura hums in affirmation, speaking even after.

“Yes.” She glances up at the sky and knows she has to return to her apartment soon. As she stands the sand slides off of her skin, re-exposing her to the cool morning air. She turns a bit, looking down a bit to see the shinobi’s face. His expression is odd, and Sakura can’t read it. A moment passes before she gets a reply.

“* _Sabaku no Gaara_. That, that is my name,” The shinobi--- _Gaara_ \---answers in a quiet voice. Perhaps afraid that she will recognize it. Afraid of how she will react once she does. Because Sakura does recognize it, and it answers all of her questions. But instead of the repulsion Sakura is sure that the boy is expecting, Sakura smiles at him. A small bending of her lips, a bit of her teeth revealed as her eyes crease. It is a genuine smile. A welcoming one. Because out of all of her theories Sakura is glad that this one turned out to be the right one. If there was ever someone who needed healing from the Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna, it would be Sabaku no Gaara. 

“Welcome, Gaara-san.” Sakura welcomes him, and the grounds burst into life at the sheer joy Sakura exudes. Her words underlined by the soft strums of a koto, the music trailing from the honden. An approval if Sakura ever heard one. Gaara still looks uncertain, however, and asks one last question.

“May I return?” The question is almost jarring, but Sakura isn’t very surprised when he asks it. Because she may not have been ostracized like Gaara was, but children are cruel. Sakura tilts her head in a shallow nod.

“The shinsha has already chosen to heal you,” Sakura replies. Gaara nods slowly, probably taking time to really take in the surrealness of it all. Sakura disconnects her chakra network from the shinsha as he does so and then waits. He breaks the quiet.

“Thank you.” Gaara’s voice is intensely grateful, as if he cannot believe that she will let him to continue coming back. Sakura only smiles again. _Perhaps they will grow closer._ But that is a wondering that can only be answered with time, and Sakura needs to return to her apartment before any of her team wakes up.

“I must go. Until next we meet.” Sakura bids Gaara goodbye, walking down the porch, onto the descending steps and leaping into the trees. She misses Gaara’s goodbye as it fades on the wind, layered in a dual voice of man and beast.

“Until then, little keeper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sabaku no Gaara; Gaara of the Sand Waterfall
> 
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	9. Four Weeks & Three Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A few new rules for our dear young Sakura.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reverse uno card of kudos to the supporters of my heart palpitations: @najehoranstyles, @YukiNagasawa, @HitchedKitten16, @Jmarshallesq15, @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*), and @bby_Dix (of which slotted in at the very last second)! All of whom commented on the last chapter and filled me with lost of love and motivation. Thank you dearly.
> 
> By the way, I have adopted a fic and renamed it “Obelus”. If you haven’t already seen it, please check it out! I’ve got two chapters so far, re-worked from the original fic to fit my writing style. The third chapter will finish up the content from the original fic and then from there it will be more *original* content! All rights belonging to the creator of Naruto of course. 
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy this chapter and then hop on over to Obelus. As always, thanks for reading.

**_Sakura_ ** freezes in place as Kakashi stands in the doorway, staring at her accusingly. One of her more playful ferns is wrapped like a particularly traitorous and cuddly boa around the jonin’s arm. _And it was in that moment, Sakura knew she had screwed up._ She waves weakly at her sensei, wincing as his eyes only narrow further. She pokes the fern with her chakra, ordering the rambunctious plant to return to its pot. It does so begrudgingly, nibbling a bit of Kakashi’s chakra before it recedes. Kakashi opens the door further, allowing Sakura to enter the apartment. He points at Sasuke and Naruto, obviously expecting Sakura to free them as well. Sasuke is ensnared by two of her tomato plants, entangled as they sequestered themselves in the middle of the Uchiha’s fire natured chakra. Naruto on the other hand has been captured by a trio of succulents. All of them have been aided by one of her vines to keep them firmly in Naruto’s lap, surrounded completely by the mix of wind and fire chakra emanating from the blonde’s centre. The scene only makes Sakura wince further as she makes her way further into her apartment. She scolds all of the misbehaving plants like her mother used to, glaring at them with her chakra until they return to their places. Her echo only laughs at Sakura’s predicament. _Shoulda told them sooner,_ her echo crows. Sakura mentally pushes her away, ignoring the gloating feeling her echo insists on projecting.

“Sorry,” Sakura apologises weakly once Naruto and Sasuke are free. To be fair, the two boys only look immensely confused, but Kakashi clearly knows what’s going on. Sakura sighs a little in her head. All those years ignoring the possibility… _wasted._ She looks to the side, trying to avoid having to look into any of their eyes.

“They probably sensed that I didn’t want you guys to leave…” Sakura explains, though it isn’t much of an explanation. Not unless you think about it. Unless you know about the mokuton and what it entails. And from the look on Kakashi’s face it would seem he understood the explanation perfectly. And those Sakura knows her ability isn’t quite the mokuton, it is close enough to it that the differences don’t matter. A fact that is both a curse and a blessing. Kakashi crosses his arms, the indent of his lips beneath the mask presses into a thin, displeased line. Sakura shrinks back ashamed. The jōnin points brusquely at the couch. Sakura obeys the unspoken order and sits, Sasuke and Naruto following her example. They sit down on either side of Sakura. Abruptly, she has the oddest feeling of being trapped. Not in a malicious way… but other than that she can’t tell. Kakashi walks until he stands in front of the trio of genin, directly parallel to Sakura. He crosses his arms and the pinkette knows she’s in for it.

“Pakkun.” Kakashi says, and Sakura yelps in surprise at the simple name as the pug who owns it leaps into her lap. Pakkun curls up, settling there. Sakura’s foreboding feeling has not disappeared. If anything it has been bolstered, and Kakashi’s unrelenting glare isn’t helping. It intensifies as Kakashi begins speaking.

“Since Sakura-chan, despite usually being the teammate with the most common sense, insists on running off _on her own,_ we are going to have a few new rules.” Kakashi stares right at Sakura as he speaks, his lone visible eye making direct eye contact with Sakura’s jade orbs. It’s almost like her sensei is ya ring straight into her soul. She kind of wants to look away, but knows she’ll regret it if she does. And Sakura has had enough of remedial training from the last time Kakashi found out she was gallivanting across the village at night.

“First will be tag teaming. When we complete D rank missions at least one other member of Team Seven must be with Sakura.” Kakashi lists the first rule, flickering his gaze across the row of seated genin to gauge their reactions.

“What about after?” Naruto asks. His expression is serious, almost as if he is honestly and truly taking mental notes on the new rules. Sakura really hopes he isn’t. She was banking on Naruto being the easiest to escape from. Catching onto the knowing aura emanating from Kakashi’s chakra, Sakura quickly discards this idea. She highly doubts she’ll be placed under Naruto’s guard for long. Especially since Kakashi knows Sakura can manipulate the cheery blonde.

“I was getting to that,” Kakashi says intentionally, an obscure scolding that Naruto actually seems to recognise, “Next will be guard dog duty. In the times that Team Seven is _not_ gathered together, Pakkun will be with Sakura. He will stay by her side until we meet up again. Then I will de-summon him to let him rest.” Pakkun perks up at this rule, nodding once Kakashi finishes explaining how it will work. 

“You got it boss.” Pakkun affirms, allaying his head back down once Kakashi moves on. Sakura doesn’t feel chained down by these new rules per-say, but she is a bit wary. She loves her team to bits and pieces, but _everywhere? All_ the time? Maybe Kakashi would lighten the rules as time went on. If she acted ‘good enough’ for long enough… Her sensei’s incredulous look clues Sakura in on the fact that he knows exactly what she’s thinking. She curses mentally.

“And finally, sleeping over at Sakura-chan’s house will be an essential team-bonding exercise. Our favourite pink bundle of cotton candy needs our chakra signatures in her range in order to ward off her anxiety.” Kakashi informs Naruto and Sasuke, casually outing Sakura for the anxiety-ridden preteen she is.

“Sensei!” Sakura whines, her cheeks flushing hot in embarrassment. Kakashi simply wags his finger at her, clicking his tongue.

“Don’t deny it Sakura-chan. It’s the truth and you know it.” Kakashi retorts, his voice light even as he gauges Sakura’s reaction. Sakura makes her playful pout nice and obvious in response. Kakashi takes the message for what it is and performs his usual closed-eye grin.

“Even mine?” Sasuke’s voice sobers the atmosphere, frail and uncertain as it is. And despite Sakura being irked at what feels like Kakashi’s over-protectiveness she nods firmly. 

“Of course I do.” Sakura insists, carefully placing a hand onto the Uchiha’s. His skin is comfortably warm despite the heat of early summer.

“She’s not lying Sasuke-kun. Believe it or not, we’re a balanced team. Without your fire we become unbalanced.” Kakashi pipes up. It lends credibility to Sakura's sincerity, and though she wishes Sasuke would take it point blank, Sakura probably wouldn’t if she was in his situation. Even though she kind of already is. Even if the rest of her team didn’t technically know that yet. She swallows, making sure her voice doesn’t crack when she speaks next.

“And cold,” Sakura adds, voice delicately soft. “Too cold.” It’s a reassurance just as much as it is an admittance.

“It’s the same with Naruto’s wind. And my lightning. Whether it be coincidence or fate, we’re all five elements bundled into one team.” Kakashi continues, nodding at Sakura to acknowledge what she’s said. Sakura smiles back at him. Then she looks back at Sasuke. He seems a little more reassured.

“It’s like we’re meant for each other,” Naruto offers, his expression thoughtful. The admission from Sasuke’s rival works better than Sakura and Kakashi’s efforts combined, but Sakura doesn’t really mind. She’ll have to get stronger before the Uchiha really recourses her. Plus, Kakashi is still working on earning respect from both Sasuke and Naruto. None of them experiences Wave the same way, and that clearly affected their relationships. Sakura mentally shakes her head, focusing back on Naruto’s comment. It really is almost like they’re meant for each other. Soulmates. Platonically of course, but soulmates nonetheless. Despite everything, Sakura is glad to have that thought. She wouldn’t want any other team, any other option. Right now, at this moment, Team Seven is perfect as it is. She can’t help but ask though.

“You’ll leave me alone when I go to the bathroom though, right?” Flashbacks of cousins both young and old barging through the bathroom door run through her mind like some terrible sort of childhood PTSD. The only issue is, none of her teammates actually know about that portion of her childhood. Or any of her childhood, really, but Sakura was ignoring that little fact.

“Sakura-chan, why?” Naruto complains, looking a little green at the mere thought of it. And that was exactly how Sakura felt about it.

“It’s a valid question!” Sakura defends herself. Her echo scoffs at her, not agreeing with Sakura in the slightest.

“No, it really isn’t,” Sasuke retorts, voice dry and disbelieving despite his neutral expression. Sakura won’t admit she’s wrong though, so she crosses her arms and pouts. It’s perfectly valid! When her cousins from her godmother’s side visited they always bathed in wherever they wanted and wouldn’t leave her alone. Even when she was relieving herself! And maybe it was different because it was years ago, but Sakura really hasn’t had anyone to cherish _since_ years ago. Nearly a decade, even. Sakura sighs, petting Pakkun by instinct. Maybe this tag teaming thing wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe.

**_After_** that, Sakura is never really left alone. Pakkun has been officially stationed at Sakura’s side for all of three hours, and Sakura doesn’t particularly hate it. The pug is very relaxed and the tinge of Kakashi’s signature that is intertwined with his own is comforting. Besides, she has other things to worry about. Like Ino, and the process of the Exams. It’s been three days since the rest of their graduating class had passed on to the second stage of the Chūnin Exams, but Sakura imagines they are having an easier time than Team Seven. Even if she has no idea what possessed the other sensei to nominate their genin. Ino’s unsure expression flashed in Sakura’s mind. The Yamanaka had approached her not long after Team Seven had decided to bow out of the Exams. Ino showed up at her door in the middle of the night, and Sakura had taken her to her bedroom to avoid the boys listening in. Kakashi probably heard anyway, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Sakura was there for her _rival_ once she got out of that damn death trap. Ino’s quiet voice from that night floats in Sakura’s ears, just as scared as her signature had felt.

_“I thought you would be there. How can I push myself if you’re not there?”_ Sakura exhales slowly, the sigh diluted by the airtime. _“I’m scared.”_ And Ino had every right to be. While Training Ground #44 has always been a safe space for the Haruno, she knows that it isn’t for others. And honestly, it was only by chance that Sakura was not eaten alive the first time she fled to the Forest of Death. With luck, Sakura had imparted that same chance on the Yamanaka. The pinkette can see it in her mind’s eye. Her only hope and prayer that Ino will succeed. The seal chain scarred silver around Ino’s throat as she runs, working with her team to survive and complete whatever objective she’s been assigned. A protection Sakura had crafted with her own blood, drawn the night Ino told her:

_“I’m scared,_ *Cho- _chan. We aren’t ready.”_ Sakura bites her lip, eyes glazed over with an unseeing glaze as she thinks to herself. What did Ino’s sensei think they were doing? Sakura narrowed her eyes at the empty sky. In fact, what did any of the Rookie Nine sensei think they were doing? The participation of Tenten-senpai’s team made sense. They had been genin for well over a year after all. But it had barely been two months since the Rookie Nine had graduated. Sakura just doesn’t understand, and none of her theories work out correctly to be a sufficient enough excuse. And probably never would. She would just have to deal with things as they came.

Sakura sighs, staring at the darkened sky through her window. Her body aches from training, but she couldn’t really focus on it. Not when Ino was out taking the Exams. Risking her life for the whims of her sensei. It chilled her to the bone, and despite Pakkun pressing closer to her stomach, Sakura couldn’t seem to get warm. Sakura coughs lightly, hoping that the crow that called the second night she met Gaara wasn’t a warning. Or a signal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cho (緒); meaning ribbon, cord, string, tie, lacing, or braid


	10. Four Weeks & A Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Preliminary peek & a hint of the past."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the latest and greatest commenters: @YukiNagasawa, @najehoranstyles, @Octavian_Grey, @Noose_the_goose, @Jmarshallesq15, @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*), and @Jesi_Ki_Kage. You have all gifted me with love and motivation! Updates have slowed down because I tried to get my first job... let's just say I am not made for service industry unless I can work alone with limited interactions with people.
> 
> ANYWAY! Please enjoy.

**_Sakura_ ** shoots to her feet, pressing up against the rails of the stands as she feels horror shoot through her.  _ Preliminary rounds?  _ She wonders what lead them to that conclusion. What caused the rest of the rookie nine to be forced into one-on-one battles right after a five day slaughter fest. At least, for the portion of the Hashirama Forest within Training Ground #44. Her eyes briefly meet Ino’s gaze; pale, sky-blue eyes shadowed with fear. But despite Sakura’s urge to leap over the railing and take Ino somewhere far away, the pinkette knows she can’t do that. Can’t do anything but sit on the side lines and watch as her rival goes through a hardship that would sooner cripple the young Yamanaka rather than help her grow. Sakura’s grip on the railing tightens to the point that her fists are trembling. She only stops when the metal begins creaking, chakra having slipped into her fingers as she grew more and more enraged. She is quiet despite her anger though---and really---the only one who knows about her incredulous rage is the random Yamanaka on the opposite side of the arena. They made eye contact with Sakura earlier, and their expression was immediately overtaken by discomfort. Likely hiding the underlying pain from Sakura’s thoughts. She knows this because her current state of mind is continuous and unstoppable mental screaming. Only Ino has peaked at her mind when she’s been like this, and her expression back then is mirrored by the unknown Yamanaka’s current one. Sakura looks away, breathing deeply and slowly. Her thoughts are still greatly out of order, but her initial indignation is cooling. She can hardly pay attention to what people are saying around her, much less the announcement on the match-ups. The only thing that sticks out is Ino’s match. It’s the first one, and she’s against some Konoha genin Sakura has never heard of him before.

The match begins, and Sakura suddenly has a reason never to forget it.  _ Akadō Yoroi.  _ Her eyes narrow as the genin speaks, insulting Ino. Goading her. As if he is trying to--- Sakura’s eyes flicker to Akadō’s hands. They are outlined with grey, an almost blackish color covering his palms. When she checks her sensory net, it is the same. It is as if there are two hand-shaped voids in the shinobi’s signature. They have no chakra and it doesn’t take long for Sakura to realize what he is trying to do. The voids are drawing in the ambient chakra around them, and Akadō is advancing on Ino. He knows that Ino’s best techniques are through distance and eye contact. But the genin has darkened sunglasses on. Sakura can’t even see through them, and Kakashi taught Team Seven how to enhance their sight a few days ago. Ino probably wasn’t doing any better. Sakura watches as Ino backs up, springing forwards now and again in attempts to knock the sunglasses off of Akadō’s face. But it’s clear to any observer that Ino is getting increasingly more tired than she should be every time she flips back. Akadō only continues to boast as Ino fails. He reveals that he is taking her chakra everytime he comes into contact with Ino’s skin, every time he blocks an attack. Sakura hopes Ino comes to the same conclusion she has.

Because if that’s the case, if Akadō is as prideful as he so obnoxiously displays, then Ino can win this. As long as the shinobi  _ thinks  _ he is taking Ino’s chakra and  _ thinks  _ that his sunglasses are still stopping Ino from performing the Yamanaka techniques. Ino can win. Sakura begs Ino from within the confines of her mind. Pleading for the blonde to remember. 

And then Ino does.

A smile cracks open on Sakura’s face as, abruptly, Akadō’s boasting gets louder. Except the genin isn’t looking at Ino anymore. Isn’t actually making contact with the blonde as he blocks. In fact, he isn’t focused on Ino at all. Instead, his attention is locked onto the empty space in front of him, head tilted away from Ino’s true direction entirely. In a wink of the sun as a cloud passes over, the battle ends. Akadō’s glasses are thrown like trash through the air. They land on the ground and bounce, a lense cracking as it stirs dust into the air. Ino’s body flickers, and then freezes in front of Akadō. Her voice echoes into the suddenly quiet arena.

“ _ *Shintenshin no Jutsu. _ ” Not even a minute later, with no visible signs of struggle, Akadō’s voice rings out as well. Sakura slumps back, using the railing to keep herself up as the adrenaline leaves.

“I forfeit.” Immediately, Ino-as-Akadō runs in the opposite direction of Ino’s actual body. It’s obvious when Ino ends the technique halfway through the run, as Akadō instantly trips and falls once he has control back over his body. The wheezing proctor from before, not that Sakura particularly recognizes him due to her impromptu rage session, steps forward.

“The match is over. Yamanaka Ino wins,” the jōnin coughs as he brings his hand down, “You may return to the stands.” Sakura keeps an eye on Akadō as Ino begins to exit the arena. Out of her peripherals she sees her rival’s shoulders lax with relief even as her expression reeks of exhaustion. Akadō glares at Ino’s back but doesn’t attack. When Ino is safely out of the other genin’s range, Sakura leaves. There are eighteen more matches despite Gaara receiving a * _ *by _ into the finals, but  _ technically,  _ Sakura isn’t supposed to be there. So she leaves the preliminary space and prays that her disguise was enough. She had already bought out Pakkun with some premium sirloin, so she didn’t have much to worry about on the team front, but that Yamanaka had caught her eyes… Sakura shakes her head. If they really had an issue with genin infiltrating to watch the exams, they wouldn’t have made the records as available as they did. She slips out of the building with nary a sound. Her feet find the quickest path home as she travels across the rooftops. Even if Ino had won, Sakura is still her rival. Which meant Sakura couldn’t let the victory get to Ino’s head. A sly smile twists into Sakura’s lips, a plan already forming. Her path springs a detour.

_ “Hey there Ino-pig!” _

**_If_ ** Kakashi notices Pakkun eating away at the steak in the corner, he doesn’t say anything. He just comes into the apartment, Sasuke and Naruto trailing behind him. Sakura keeps Ino from fan-girling by tugging just a bit too tightly on a section of the blonde’s hair as she braids it. Ino’s dopey expression immediately breaks, and Sakura is on the receiving end of two grateful smiles. Her rival has no qualms in covering up her mistake with a sharp jab to the ribs, however, so Sakura gets to see Sasuke’s for maybe point-five seconds before she’s whipping her head around to glare at Ino. Her mouth opens for a sarcastic remark.

“Do you  _ want  _ me to braid your ridiculous amount of hair or do you want to stab me with your elbows?” Sakura snarks, glancing in at the mirror in front of them to make sure she’s placing the braids correctly. Ino clicks her tongue, catching Sakura’s eyes in the mirror.

“I dunno, are you gonna stop tugging at my hair?” Ino retorts. Sakura rolls her eyes, winking at Ino in the mirror as she focuses back in on the hair in her hands.

“Ino-pig, that’s how braiding  _ works, _ ” Sakura stresses the last word as she continues incorporating the braid she’s currently working on. The style she is working on comes from her maternal grandfather’s mountain nation. And while Sakura usually wouldn’t let Ino walk around with this braid in broad daylight, the specific name of this orientation of braids is known as Freyja’s Flame. Ino’s platinum blonde hair fits the style in a way Sakura’s own pink locks would never. More importantly they stand for passion and victory, not that Sakura will ever tell Ino that. Besides, it’s been far too long since Sakura has seen blonde hair done up this way. The last person she’d seen with this hairstyle had been her mother. Sakura’s echo paints the bittersweet memory next to Ino’s face in the mirror, wiping it away one Sakura has seen it. It almost makes Sakura want to pretend that Ino is her sister again. But there is no time for that. Not in this open space with her boys behind her and her rival in front of her. Not when she has to make sure that the complimentary braids are just as tight and stiff as the main one. Sakura sticks her tongue out of her mouth a little, focusing. She doesn’t notice the habit even as Ino does. The platinum blonde hides her knowing smile with a sly grin. Sakura binds off the last braid and takes a step back, admiring her work.

“Passion and victory, right?” Ino says with a teasing lilt, “At least, that’s what obaa-san told me.” Sakura’s head jerks a little in surprise. She briefly wonders when Ino asked her mother about the braids. Briefly, because Sakura’s heart is stuck on the fact that Ino remembers at all. It’s been years since her family died, even longer since Ino would have been able to see Sakura’s mother with these braids. Not since they were three, after her mother had apprehended the Kumo nin that had attempted to kidnap the Ino-Shika-Cho heirs. Sakura nods, her smile small and bittersweet

“Yeah. Passion and victory.” An evil expression slides onto Sakura’s face. “Because if you don’t get at least third place how can you claim to be my rival?” Ino’s ensuing gasp is as exaggerated as she is supposedly offended, and her rival shoves her away a little.

“Excuse  _ me,  _ forehead. If I don’t do better than second then it’s because the village is getting attacked!” Ino declares loudly. It is then that Naruto decides to stick his nose into the situation.

“No! It’s because we decided to train instead of entering into the Exams,” Naruto said with all the confidence and bluster of an idiot. Sakura watches in amusement as Ino locates the nearest pillow and smacks Naruto across the face with it.

“Prove it then!” Ino shouts with a warcry. Their battle lasts all of thirty seconds before a pillow hits Sakura square in the face. Everything is frozen for a second as Sakura works through what happened. Once she does, she immediately turns towards Kakashi with a pleading look. The jōnin sighs before lazily reaching down to pick-up a pillow. Naruto instantly notices, complete panic welling up in his eyes.

“Sensei no!” The Uzumaki’s eyes flicker in several directions, looking for an escape route. “That’s favouritism!” Kakashi hums, using his unoccupied hand to rub at his chin. Then he looks back at Naruto, launching the pillow at high speeds as he replies. 

“It is favouritism.” Their sensei’s aim is true, except Naruto dodges at the last second and Sasuke gets beaned instead. The Uchiha scowls, a pillow materializing in his hands like magic. He aims at Sakura, honing in on the unsuspecting pinkette. Sakura shrieks with joy as the madness begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shintenshin no Jutsu; Mind Transfer Technique (With it, a ninja sends his mind as spiritual energy into a target's body supplanting the target's mind with their own. The user transfers their consciousness to the target, giving them complete control of the body for a short period of time. While in control of the body, the user is able to communicate with the target. Since the user is in another body, they are also able to use that body's chakra. It is also possible for the user to switch bodies with the target.)  
> **a “by”; it basically a pass, meaning that the one who has it does not need/have to participate in an event


	11. Three Weeks & Six Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A memory in the morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to the fillers of my inbox, my lovely comenteers, @HitchedKitten, @YukiNagasawa, @pinklemonade123 (*wink wonk*), @Jmarshallesq15, and @najehoranstyles! Thank y'all a bunch.
> 
> Btdubs, I have indeed started a podfic for 'A Hundred Children; A Hundred Stones' on YouTube! I only have chapter one up and I might redo it because of anxiety, but please give it a listen if you'd like. Thanks for reading my rambles. Link: https://youtu.be/9Ov8Bja1zlQ . Apologies for any mistakes.
> 
> As always, please enjoy.

**_When_ **night falls two days later, they are at the shrine. The Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna always has a serene-like quality to it, so it makes sense. It allows Sakura to shrink her sensory net and input. The figuren on her shoulders glisten in the light of the porch lanterns. It gives the impression that the scars are almost as alive as the lightning that gave them to her. If she thinks about it, she can hear the booming of thunder and smell a faint trace of ozone. Idly, she wonders when the memory will fade. How many years until she can barely remember the visceral pain and the vivid scenery. Something whispers to her that she’ll never forget. Sakura is inclined to agree. Her team is asleep in the upstairs of the main building. For some reason Sakura can’t find it in her to sleep. Sure she’s tired, but there’s something keeping her awake.

Sakura tilts her head, opening her ears to listen to the forest’s whispering lullaby. The darkest time of the night has passed by now. The sky is soft purple, a lightening periwinkle creeping around the edges. She breathes in the cool morning air, letting it build up underneath her ribs until she can feel the pressure all the way down in her stomach. Then she exhales, closing her eyes briefly as she does so. The air leaves in a controlled manner, Sakura’s chest lowering back down. Around her, the trees of the kago arrangement flutters with the breeze. Her eyes skim over the incoming clouds coming from the fringes of the western horizon. Her mother’s voice whispers to her from a memory so similar to now.

_“See those clouds my little blossom? Your uncle is saying hello from Mountain Country.”_

Sakura used to think that her mother was talking about the pure lands. Long before she’d grown older and learned enough about geography to realize that wasn’t the case. Sakura wonders if his stone is still there, or if time has weathered it away. Sakura’s eyes soften as the clouds coast along from Rain’s skies and into theirs. A whisper touches her lips.

“Tell him that I miss them.” Her voice is nary a mutter the wind, but the gusts carry her voice away anyway. Sakura wonders if her words will reach Mountain Country at all, or if her quiet moment of weakness will fall away somewhere along the journey. Sakura lays up against the closest tree trunk. She watches with passive eyes as vines weave into a blanket over her legs, branches interlocking above her and shielding her from the sun. The sensations are almost foreign to her. It’s been years since she’s sat in these gardens. Years since she traded soft earth for rough concrete and cold nights spent alone. Alone. It’s been awhile since she was alone. The smiles of her team flash in her mind. Kakashi’s closed-eye grin. Naruto beaming smiles full of laughter. Sasuke’s sly smirks when he thinks no one is looking. The pack’s scheming dog-like smiles. Sakura lays her head on her knees, turning it so her cheek rests on the knee caps. _What do the kami think when a human steps off the path?_ Or rather, more relevantly. _How does a manipulator do when a pawn leaves the board?_ Sakura sighs, her eyes creasing as she looks at the purpling sky. She lets her mind wander. And at some point, a song blossoms from underneath her breath.

“Have you heard of the beauty of _*Ikiteiruishi_ City?” Sakura sings, her eyes no longer seeing the sky. Instead, she sees a hazy memory. One of a particularly cool summer night. The brazier was lit, and Sakura can almost scent the fragrance of burnt sugar in the air from roasted marshmallows. She imagines the warmth of the fire caressing her front, her grandmother picking at a ukulele as her mother sings. It’s a song she had almost forgotten, despite how dearly she held it to her heart. Her mouth sings in tandem with the memory of her mother’s voice.

“He wanders those paths in hopes that you’ll pass,” Sakura’s voice is resonant. The forest almost appears to lean into the clearing within the kago arrangement as her voice carries. However, Sakura doesn’t quite notice. She is too caught up in the memory. Grateful that this one hasn’t been twisted by her nightmares. _And it never will be,_ her echo promises quietly. In her mind’s eye, Sakura can remember her father’s blush that night as he attempted to get the elder females of the Harunos to stop. When he couldn’t, her father simply tucked Sakura into his lap and pouted. Sakura recalls the soft, giggling laughter that had bubbled in her chest that night. Her father had been happy though. Even with his feeble protests. Sakura only learned why that was once the song finished. Sakura takes in a small breath for the next line.

“And sell him a gem or ten.” Sakura smiles at the thin clouds overhead. The plucking of her grandmother’s ukulele thrumming through her ears.

“Oh the beauty of Ikiteiruishi City,” Sakura choruses, wildflowers blooming from the woven vines shelter her legs. A smile quirks at her lips at the sight. Because, ironically enough, the blossoms are the colour of several different gemstones. Sakura reaches out towards the closest flower, marveling at the diamond-like qualities it possesses.

“Will give only the best price for his precious vice,” the song pauses for a beat and Sakura breathes in slowly, “Those precious stones and gems at a pillar of ten.” Sakura idly wonders if this song is still common in Mountain Country. She hopes that it is. Hopes that her father is remembered by more than the remnants of two broken clans. Her echo gently pushes her back into the memory. Sakura leaves the thoughts for another time.

“Have you heard of the beauty of Ikiteiruishi City?” She remembers that this was when her grandfather came back outside from the kitchen, catering a large plate of dango and joining in. Her father had thrown a betrayed look at the elderly man, whispering a quiet, _“How could you?”,_ that only Sakura could hear. Her grandfather had bent down a little, winking at Sakura. She had grinned. Then her grandfather had walked off to his wife, setting the tray down on the low table in front of them. Sakura glances at the lightening shadows of the morning, remembering that her mother had stolen her attention after that.

“His eyes like sapphire,” a quick inhale of breath, “His hair like ruby.” The sky was melting from periwinkle to pastel pinks, streaks of orange and a faded yellow hot on their trail. And while faint, Sakura can still see the stars. Her memory sharpens her vision of them, overlaying the sky she sees with the one from that mid-July night. Sakura continues to the end of the song.

“Only the best from the beauty of Ikiteiruishi City...” Sakura trails off as the memory of her mother finished the song with a flourished turn. Her mother smiled down at Sakura’s father as she bit into the marshmallow she had been singing into. Kizashi narrowed his eyes at Sakura’s mother.

_“Why did you teach her that song?”_ Her father whined, and tucked Sakura’s head beneath his chin. Sakura remembers her mother laughing in response.

_“Oh **anata, I didn’t have to.”_ Mebuki had replied. _“And besides, Sakura would have learned how we met at some point.”_ That was when Sakura had realized that the ‘beauty of Ikiteiruishi City’ in the song had been her father. At the time, she had scrambled out of her father’s lap, nearly toppling as she spun around. After looking her father up and down as best a four-year-old could, Sakura agreed with the song. Sakura sighs, blinking at the peaking sunrise.

“ _You_ **_were_ ** _very pretty, otou-chan,”_ Sakura whispers. Her father’s betrayed expression flashes in her mind. Sakura laughs wetly, coughing a bit. The memory ends. And despite the spike of sadness that stabs through her heart, Sakura is glad to recover the memory. The good years she had spent with her family. Before their lives were cut short. Sakura sniffles, glancing back at the diamond flower. Sakura closes her eyes.

\---

_**Have**_ you heard of the beauty of Ikiteiruishi City? He fell in love with the daughter of the king. They wed and had a beautiful daughter. Her hair as pink as cherry blossoms; her will as strong as iron. The starling of Ikiteiruishi City.

The mountains and the forests of her homelands set her free. To fight and to protect those she loves with all of her being. They do not urge her back. Not until she is hurt. Not until she cries.

Have you heard of the moonstone of Ikiteiruishi City? She fell in love with the beauty from the sea. They wed and had a beautiful daughter. Her heart as precious as gold; her mind as sharp as a kingsblade. The darling of Uzushio’s people.

The oceans and rivers of her homelands set her free. To act when needed and earn the blessing of the kami. They do not call her back. Not until it is necessary. Not until she heals.

_Deep within a dark cavern, a terrible statue trembles. Innocuous streams of water erode seams into the statue. Creeping vines wrap around it’s limbs, cinching around the carving and piking in._

_A sharp crack echoes throughout the space. The statue crumbles into pieces; shattered completely. No one hears it. No one screams. The only body in that cave has long since withered._

_It dies with nary a whisper._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Ikiteiruishi; 生きている石 (living stone)  
> **anata; you, my darling, or my sweetie (strictly speaking it means ‘you,’ however when wives address their husbands with this word they mean ‘my darling’ or ‘my sweetie.’
> 
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	12. Three Weeks & Two Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A lovely afternoon with an evening to wrap things up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a bouquet of thanks to the commenters of the last chapter: @RedTruth, @HitchedKitten16 (A wonderfully understanding reader who has put up with my blunders), @Stella_The_Person, and @LegacyFalls (a newly instated commenter who plucked my heartstrings)! I am super grateful for all of your love and support.
> 
> Please enjoy.

**_Sakura_ **is usually very quiet. It’s a quirk she picked up from living in a once boisterous home. A certain quality that most observers have. One often exposed when they’re loved ones are loud and chaotic. Happy. She stays back and watches, preferring to cement every happy memory within her mind before they disappear. Mostly because she loves them. Partly because she is selfish. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Sakura isn’t worried enough to figure that out though. She has other things to focus on. Like how Naruto is trying to nab her meat from the grill. Or how Sasuke is watching with the intent to steal it from Naruto before he can eat it. Or Kakashi’s damnable genjutsu of a mask over his face that Sakura has never been able to break. The tips of her ears twitch. A familiar melody drifts into her ears. A call. She turns her head, tracking the origin. It’s coming from the honden. Faint, enough so that Sakura knows she is not wanted immediately. But strong enough to know that the day is coming soon. Sakura herself can’t fathom why the kami, if they truly exist, are calling her. But she owes it to her family to go once it’s time.

Her chopsticks blur. Less than a second later both Sasuke and Naruto are yelping in pain. She plops her reward straight into her mouth and chews on the meat. Savouring the salty-roasted flavour, she lays two more slices of meat onto the grill. One in front of Naruto, and the other in front of Sasuke. The pair take a few seconds, but quickly get what she means. One for each of them. Sakura goes back to watching them bicker, letting the late afternoon breeze pull goosebumps from her skin. Kakashi sits next to her, the pair of them leaning against the same tree. Impulsively, Sakura reaches for his hand. Just to hold. A habit she practiced with her family. Like the kisses pressed against the crown of their heads; the bops of her finger on everyone’s noses. Affectionate. Kakashi let’s her. Sakura notices that for once, her sensei isn’t wearing his usual gloves. She takes his hand into hers. It’s larger than hers, with thicker digits and a palm that cradles her own hand with little difficulty. She studies the appendage, tracing her finger over every little scar and divot. Kakashi’s skin is the journal of his life. She turns his hand over in hers, her thoughts flickering.

_“We are tactile in our love. Vocal, and reminding. We desperately hope to never miss a chance to declare it.”_ Kizashi had said to her once. When Sakura had noticed that everyone else did not perform the casual touches and traces that her family did. Considering the love she had found in her team, Sakura agrees. She never wants to lose a chance to let them know she loves them. Not explicitly of course. Not with words or declarations. Sakura isn’t ready for that. But she can embrace them. Ruffle Naruto’s hair and pack tomatoes for Sasuke. Secretly help Ayumi-baa-san cook up some _*agedashi nasu_ at her stand for Kakashi. She traces Kakashi’s heartlines down his palm and onto his wrist. Mindlessly, Sakura outlines seal patterns around the jōnin’s wrist like a bracelet. It’s ineffective without blood as a medium, but it reminds her to broach the topic with her team soon. To ask them if she can write seal chains into their skin to protect them. Sakura wonders how powerful the chains would be. Considering the fact that a Haruno hasn’t gifted anyone in several years since she gave a chain to Ino. She’s the only Haruno left besides. No one _could_ have. 

As the trees whisper with an ominous breeze, cool and refreshing despite that, Sakura prays that her cherished ones will be safe. Perhaps it is impertinent to pray only when she is in times of trouble, but praying in the good times did nothing to preserve them. And Sakura is a shinobi. There is always trouble afoot. Sakura traces one of Kakashi’s scars once more before looking up to the sky. Kakashi doesn’t take his hand back, content to let her keep it gently in her grasp. Sakura weaves their fingers together. His hand is warm. Reassuring. It engulfs hers in the way her father’s hands used to. Sakura closes her eyes, opening them after a breath. Clouds drift across the sky, and Sakura breathes in deeply. Maybe it is impertinent. But still. She prays anyway.

**_There_ ** is an issue with being unique, Team Seven learns. The issue is honestly logical on all accounts. But it blindsides them. Sakura, most especially. Or at least, it feels that way. She’s always been the thinker of the group. The paper-nin with theories to span over lifetimes. Yet there was something, not even she---not even Kakashi---had considered. Sensors of the day have never had trouble with shrinking their range. In fact, one of the most common issues was pushing their limits. Expanding their range. _The exact opposite of what Sakura needed._ And none of the shinobi Kakashi pestered about it, no matter how seasoned or supposedly prodigious, could figure out how to help her. Either that or they didn’t have the time or inclination to help figure it out. It doesn’t matter what their reasons were. Sakura is left back at square one, along with the rest of her team. 

Sakura sighs, leaning her head back. Her hands grip onto the bridge’s railing to keep her from falling. Idly she wonders how terrible that would truly be. To fall. She blinks up at the sky, peering at the clouds as they float across the orange-pink expanse without a care in the world. She can kind of understand why Shikamaru was always watching them now. Jealousy. To float free and unattached from the world below. When she was younger, she hadn’t been able to understand why Shikamaru appeared to be so lazy. Why he would prefer to lay on a hill and nap or watch the clouds all day. Now though, she can kind of figure it out.

Clouds aren’t complicated. Their patterns are easy to follow, and Sakura’s thoughts follow the shadows and curves easily. They’re great distractions from everything. 

Sakura looks back down, swinging in close to the railing. She crosses her arms, leaning onto the railing and looking down at the water below. But distractions won’t fix her. They never have. Not her dreams or her books. _Not her memories or her wishes._ A fish leaps from the water, making a short leap before plopping back into the stream with a quiet _plip._ The ripples catch Sakura’s attention. Her eyes follow them as they go, trailing a second behind. The third ripple leads her eyes to catch the reflection of Pakkun in the water. A reflection that, once she suspended her disbelief, quickly lead to the pug himself. She blinks twice.

“Good evening, Pakkun-san.” Sakura greets him. The pug raises a brow, his head quirking to the side.

“Not going to ask about the water-walking?” Pakkun asks, voice petulant. Sakura laughs a little. She shakes her head.

“I believe you are here for more pressing matters, Pakkun-san.” Sakura reminds the ninken, reaching over and picking him up. She lifts him over the railing, settling him down gently. Her eyes flicker slightly to the left of his eyes.

“My tricks are wasted on you, Sakura-chan.” Pakkun’s voice is light, but there is an undertone that lets Sakura know that she hasn’t gotten away with anything. An undertone she hasn’t heard from anyone other than her mother and Kakashi.

“Try it on Naruto next-time.” Sakura attempts to keep the cover conversation going, hoping Pakkun will wait to have whatever scolding she was about to receive. Hoping he’ll postpone it to hopefully _never._ Of course, life never works out that way.

“Sakura-chan.” Pakkun says in a warning tone. She wilts a bit. She still doesn’t meet his eyes, instead, she looks down and scuffs the heel of her sandal on the bridge. It’s an obvious sign of guilt. Sakura knows it. Pakkun knows it. He says her name again. “ _Sakura-chan.”_ She flinches.

“I left an obvious scent trail…” Sakura’s tentative excuse falls terribly short. Pakkun sighs, inching closer and placing a paw on her arm. It’s not as reassuring as Pakkun means it to be. No matter what happens, Kakashi is going to scold her once she gets back to the apartment. _Or maybe he won’t._ She _had_ run out after they learned there was no one experienced and available to help her. Except. Didn’t that mean he totally would? Sakura couldn’t be certain. There were too many variables. Too many thoughts running around that head of hers. She releases a small breath, looking back up at the sky.

“Just don’t leave without me next time.” Pakkun waits for her to glance back at him. “Okay?” Sakura swallows. Then she nods, ignoring the burning in her eyes. What kind of shinobi was she if she couldn’t handle a scolding without crying? _An imperfect one,_ something whispers from the back of her mind. Sakura’s echo quickly hushes it, however, easily wiping away the voice of doubt. Pakkun sighs from next to her.

“C’mon Sakura-chan. Let’s get back,” Pakkun bids her to come. Sakura tilts her head back slowly, watching as the skyline is slowly covered by trees in her vision. Then she turns, meeting Pakkun’s gaze as he briefly glances back.

“Coming.” She assures the pug, trailing after him as they begin their journey home. As they walk, Sakura wonders to herself. Maybe there isn’t anything to fix. She’d survived this long hadn’t she? Besides, she had only started freaking out once Kakashi pointed out that her range was near impossible. Prodigious on an exponential scale. But thinking about it objectively, perhaps her range is a byproduct of her heritage? Being a Haruno has always meant strange things. Sakura is uncertain whether Kakashi will accept her explanation or not. He probably wouldn’t. But even if her contemplations are merely theories, well, it doesn’t matter. There’s no one in Konoha who can help her. Sakura wraps up her thoughts as they ascend the stairs to her apartment building. It doesn’t even matter that she might be a ticking time bomb. At least she’ll be useful until then. The song from the shinsha shrieks in tempo, as if angry. Sakura doesn’t pay it any mind. Life is fleeting. It is only right that her fuse is short.

Kakashi opens the door just before Sakura can grab the handle. She can’t read his expression, but the flicker of emotion in his chakra signature makes her look away ashamed. Her sensei sighs. A hand gently grabs onto her own. It engulfs it just as it did earlier that afternoon. Warm, gentle. _Safe._ An unspoken promise of protection. And maybe Sakura doesn’t deserve it. But she’ll keep it anyway. She returns the gesture by threading their fingers together. Kakashi guides her inside, Pakkun already trotting past her legs. Her sensei closes the door behind them. His grip doesn’t budge a bit. He keeps a hold of her as they sit down, Naruto and Sasuke arguing at the sink. Oh. Sakura breathes. She had forgotten it was their turn to make dinner. She looks down at her lap, the clasp of her hand and Kakashi’s settling easily onto her knee. She takes comfort in the familiar scars. In the quiet.

Sakura mentally smiles to herself. The corners of her mouth barely budge. Here in her apartment with her team, it’s almost as if all of her worries don’t exist. Not quite distractions, no. Not like the clouds. Or her dreams. Or her books. More like… assurances. A collection of her cherished people who are willing and actively trying to help her. The security of home with her garden lavished throughout. And despite the concrete floors ever so prevalent, they are still covered by blankets and rugs. Sheets and duvets and quilts all gathered within her apartment over the few months since Wave. Placed there by her team. Left lying around with a comfortable ease.

Sakura traces the scars on Kakashi’s hand. She watches her teammates in the kitchen. Breaths in the lemon-lavender scented air. It feels all too good for her. Especially for her.

  
And maybe Sakura doesn’t deserve it. _But she’ll keep it anyway._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *agedashi nasu; eggplant saury or Japanese fried eggplant (Hatake Kakashi’s favourite food.)
> 
> [Current Shrine: Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna]


	13. Two Weeks & Three Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Shima no mura-sha Ubusuna is but one piece of a triad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand salutations to the lovely commenters of last chapter, @LegacyFalls, @YukiNagasawa, and @Jesi_Ki_Kage! Your genuine reactions and lovely analyzations give this author the warm fuzzies within her heart. Thank you all for your love and support.
> 
> As always, please enjoy.

**_She_ **isn’t quite certain as to why, but her feet take her somewhere different this time. It isn’t much of an issue, considering today is one of the rare days that the rest of her team can’t meet for dinner, but Pakkun is still on watchdog duty. Which means he follows her even as she deviates from the path home. Silent but for the sounds of his pawsteps and without question. She wonders how he will report this to Kakashi later. But as long as she isn’t collapsing from anxiety attacks or snapping her sensory net to short, Sakura’ pretty sure Pakkun won’t really tattle on her. Unless, of course, she tried to leave the village as a missing-nin. Not an option she ever truly considered, but it was funny to imagine what Pakkun would do to stop her.

It’s been almost a week since the search for a sensory aid ended up as a bust, but Team Seven hadn’t let it get them down too much. Not after Sakura’s initial reaction, anyway. And maybe Sakura knows she can’t run away forever, but training ended ten minutes ago and her mind couldn’t help but flash through memories of cold concrete and empty, white plaster walls. They aren’t anymore, of course. Her apartment is a lovely golden yellow, a few shades darker than the sunshine she associates with Naruto. The walls are decorated with her garden, content and quietly loving. And her floors are covered in so many rugs you can’t really see the muted grey of the concrete. She knows. Of course, she does. But instead of turning around and going home, she continues her wandering. _Not quite wandering,_ her echo whispers like a kiss of the wind. It’s the truth, considering the fact that she knows full well where she’s going. She gives her echo a mental nod. Even if her memories of her destination are old and frayed with time. 

It’s not like the paths are unfamiliar. They aren’t. She’s in Konoha after all. But it’s been a long while since she’s set her feet down this particular pattern. Years. Six of them, actually. It’s a little ironic. She spent the first six years of her life memorizing these streets. Committing the directions to memory so her mother didn’t have to worry. Because she needed to know these roads. This neighborhood. This sector of the civilian district. This specific triangularly shaped portion of Konohagakure within the vertices of the shrines. Because as much as her mind cringes away from admitting it… 

She has to pass her old house to trace these roads. 

Has to watch the cracks in the road as they pass by. Cracks that have nestled into the concrete since before she was born. Has to see different decorations at the neighboring homes. Instead of Atsuko-obaa-san’s rose trellises, there are pieces of metal artwork. Instead of Hiroto-san’s small outdoor table filled with freshly baked bread for the kids, the lawn is empty and overgrown with grass. To use these roads, Sakura has to see some sort of miscellaneous ivy where her mother’s grapevines are supposed to be. See the cherrywood wrap-around porch of her old home absent. The tan of the oak somehow hurts. She’s only at the entrance of the street. And yet she can already feel the pulses of pain building up in her chest. Sakura closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath in and tries to sort out her thoughts. She used to love these streets. And maybe she still does. But that part of her is so deeply buried, she doesn’t regret what she does next.

It’s unnecessary, and maybe a little cowardly, but she skips the entire neighborhood in seconds. An old chakra trick that Iruka-sensei had taught their class eons ago. Such a simple maneuver wouldn’t confuse Pakkun though. He stays in step with her, trotting quietly at her side. Somehow, it’s comforting. Despite how crowding it had seemed before. To have someone with her, even just a ninken. Strange. Then again, everything since Wave had been strange. Pushing her comfort zone. Never letting her sit isolated and alone. Not truly. A familiar bend in the road catches Sakura’s eye. She leaves her pondering thoughts to the back of her mind. She has other things to focus on. 

Sakura keeps walking. Down old, cracked roads. To the edges of the village. All the way until she tracks down the abandoned path of gravel and coarse dirt at the back of the Nara Forest. It isn’t as if the Nara Forest is bereft of Hashirama trees. It’s actually the opposite. The difference in name comes from the herds of deer that roamed these particular woods. They had come with the Nara when the village was founded. There was something strange about them. This odd quality affected their environment, and soon enough the particular portion of the forests within Konoha was named after them. Similar to how the Aburame Woods gained its title. The wind whistles through the leaves in a deeper tone. Deeper than the whispering of the Hashirama Forest anyway. The sounds of deer trotting through the trees follow not long after and break Sakura from her thoughts. She takes another deep breath. It is all too easy to scold herself.

Her mind always runs down too many connected paths. Taking lefts and rights and leaving her standing alone. This wasn’t a time to get lost in her head, though. Sakura turns her head, peering into the forest. Her gaze follows the path inwards as far as she can before the trees begin to swallow it. It’s oddly quiet, here. There’s something missing. Sakura pauses, directing a bit of chakra to her ears. Seconds pass with the ambiance of the forest playing all the while. Her echo whispers to her as they both realize it. _There._ The chirping of crickets and the screaming of cicadas are absent. Birds sing from the trees, but the melodies are softer. Like lullabies. As if there is a sleeping giant waiting at the end of the forest path. Just waiting to be woken up. Sakura, deep within her heart, knows what the giant is. She turns to Pakkun and bends down.

The pug lets her pick him up with little fuss. Either he trusts her---which she doubts after her little stunt from before---or he figures that he can better follow Kakashi’s orders from his perch within her arms. Hard to lose your charge if you’re being carried by her. And despite the fact that she knows Pakkun is watching her, it is easy to let Pakkun’s presence become muted. Like any other small animal within the forest. Even with the traces of Kakashi’s chakra signature tinging his. Sakura has become far too comfortable with her team for that to matter. It has more of a calming effect than anything else. So it’s no surprise she can disregard Pakkun’s signature so easily. 

Once Pakkun is secured within her arms, Sakura takes her first step forward. She almost finds it odd that the familiar crunch of gravel is absent. But the last time she used this path was when she was just starting the Academy. Young and without a lick of chakra control in her. Because back then, she had had other things to focus on. Her echo keeps her thoughts from turning cyclical. Sakura is grateful for it. And as the turbulence of her thoughts winds down, her following steps quicken. Eventually, Sakura settles into a semi-quick pace. Her strides make it seem as if the distance between the entrance of the forest and the first _**torii_ gate is negligible. When she was a child it had felt like miles. And maybe it was. Learning how to enhance her speed with chakra had only made her worse at calculating distances. Not that anybody really could when deep within the dense foilage of the Nara Forest.

Sakura counts each gate as they pass under them. _Two, three, four…_ At five, the looming figure of a shrine appears in the distance. The second in the triad with seven torii gates leading up to it. The first had thirteen, and the last is likely to have three. Not that Sakura really remembers the third all too clearly. The Aburame had long since been taking care of it in the Harunos’ stead. Along that line of thought, Sakura wonders how her cousins are doing. It’s been a while since she’s been able to think of family without a dull ache. And on that note, she misses Torune. 

The space between the fifth and sixth gates is much farther than the previous ones. As they approach the air begins to feel heavier, and a deep earthy sense begins to fill Sakura’s nose. Almost like the rich soil of a valley, just after it’s rained. Pakkun shivers once in her hold, the sudden coolness of the atmosphere is a drastic difference from the warm summer mugginess that is common in Konoha’s forests. Although a shiver runs up her spine as well, Sakura steels herself. If she didn’t, Pakkun might’ve gone flying. She was a very… _reactive…_ person when it came to chills up her spine. As they pass underneath the sixth gate, the shrine’s looming figure only increases. Sakura, for all of her acclaimed shinobi training, can only see a vague outline. The shrine is completely dark. As if all the light is being sucked in and held hostage. Yet it didn’t feel dead. Nor abandoned. Just sleeping. Her father’s voice rings like bells in the quiet.

_“Quiet in the forest where our gentle giant sleeps. Two of three, two of three. Don’t wake him up without the love of the sea. Two of three, two of three.”_

A nursery rhyme from Uzushio. A warning. Three Giant Brothers all fell asleep. The eldest one wakes with no one to keep. The youngest one waits and dreamlessly weeps. The middle one wanders the hills and steeps. All of them waiting for the love from the sea. Her mother’s loving whisper is the only thing she hears as the forest hushes.

“ _Sakura, my precious blossom, you are our love from the sea.”_

They are ten feet away from the seventh gate. The edge of a staircase gleams in the scarce light. Carefully, Sakura sets Pakkun down. She signs for him to stay. Despite how much he clearly wants to protest, the ninken reluctantly agrees.

“It’s okay, Pakkun-san. The Harunos have taken care of this shrine for centuries.” Sakura assures him, pulling out a kunai. She walks to the final gate, as close as she can without leaning in. She then gives herself a small incision in her right hand, smearing the welling blood across each of her fingers and the skin of her palm. Sakura looks up, hesitating for a moment. Then, she presses her hand to the gate. She backpedals a bit, her eyes flickering around the shinsha. At first, nothing happens. Then Sakura begins to hear a low rumbling sound. It builds up slowly until the roar of the seals unwinding becomes so loud Sakura can’t hear anything but the sliding of stone against stone and the crackle of pure energy zipping through seal after seal. At this point, Sakura is sure that the whole village can hear it. But no one comes running, and her thoughts are swept away by more important matters. It takes her a few seconds to register, but the roar has already stopped by the time her hearing returns to normal. And it is in that newfound quiet that the shrine begins to wake up.

First, the entire forest brightens. Where once it seemed as if the foliage was too thick to lat any sort of sunlight in, sunbeam began to trick in through the leaves. The canopy opens up, branches spreading out and thinning. As if they are stretching from a long nap. The sky above the shrine clears, and light begins to spill over every surface. The _**Umi no rūtsu_ -sha Ubusuna is physically different from the Shima no mura. Instead of having a large central building with one wide stairway leading up to it, the stairway is split into to two curved ones. Each set of steps lead up to two different medium-sized buildings. A waterfall splashes down within the area between, continuously filling a pond. The pond has two rivers branching off from either side. The rivers themselves pass underneath the stairways before wrapping around and disappearing behind the shinsha. A wooden deck goes over the birthing pool of the waterfall, connecting the two buildings. Sakura can barely get a glimpse of the rest of the shrine from the open area between the two buildings, but she knows from her memories that a lake stretches out beyond.

“That’s pretty impressive, girlie.” Pakkun’s gruff voice comes from right beside her. Sakura jumps a little in surprise. She had been so distracted by the shrine that she hadn’t so much as heard the ninken walking up to her. “You come here for a reason?” Pakkun’s question makes her realize that, yes, she had come for a reason. Maybe it had been nostalgia that had first drawn her back to the second shrine. Or maybe it was some twisted version of self-harm. _No,_ her echo denies. Sakura brushes it off. But the Haruno’s had come from Uzushio. 

“Yeah,” Sakura tells the pug, “I did.” Because Uzushio has always been known to have held the best-kept secrets. Secrets that might just give Sakura the answers she needs. Sakura closes her eyes, taking one last deep breath in. It fills her lungs with cold air. The breath settles underneath her ribs. She lets it sit there a moment before letting it out. It’s not cleansing, exactly. But it is refreshing.

“Are we going in?” Pakkun asks, and Sakura finally looks over and down at him.

“Not today.” Because the seals need a bit of time to do their work. To clean up the dust from the years gone by. To settle things in order so any visitors won’t get zapped by half-way activated defense mechanism. To process Sakura’s blood and accept her as the new keeper. Sakura looks up at the newly revealed sky. It’ a crisp blue, darkening as the day winds down into sunset. Her father’s voice rings like bells in her head.

_“Quiet in the forest where the youngest brother weeps. Last of three, last of three. Don’t wake him up without the love of the sea. Last of three, last of three.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *torii/鳥居; literally 'bird abode' (Japanese pronunciation: [to.ɾi.i]) is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.  
> **Umi no rūtsu; Roots of the Sea
> 
> [Current Shrine: Umi no rūtsu-sha Ubusuna]


	14. One Week & Four Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A thousand and one thanks to the lovely commenters of the last chapter: @TheOneTheOnlyNobody, @LegacyFalls, @YukiNagasawa, and @Jesi_Ki_Kage! I am always super grateful and amazed at all your love and support. Thanks to y'all, I always feel pumped and ready to write a new chapter.
> 
> Also, blame Moonlight Densetsu (Lo-Fi Nite) for any sadness that comes from this chapter. I actually almost cried tbh.
> 
> As always, please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Tears to dreams."

**_Pakkun_ ** is a snitch, Sakura decides. A tattletale. An informant. _Worried,_ her echo supplies and Sakura hates how she’s right. It doesn’t make Kakashi’s searching eyes any more bearable. Her position at the table any less uncomfortable. Because Sakura sits right across from Kakashi. And Pakkun is lounging in one of the overhead pots, watching them stare at each other. She kind of wants to cry. She doesn’t though. Instead, Sakura chooses to listlessly move her onigiri around her plate, nudging them with her chopsticks. Kakashi sighs. Sakura knows why. She’s always been terrible at confrontations. Worse yet, confrontations that concern her _own_ well-being. Which is what this conversation is shaping up to be. She honestly would rather be doing a D rank mission right now. To be fair, Kakashi seems a little awkward too, but it wasn’t enough for him to just give up on the conversation. Something within her warmed at the thought that he cared for her enough to push through his dislike of emotional conversation.

Her sensei gives her one more minute to begin talking. Sakura, of course, doesn’t answer. She can’t really defend herself. What she’s done has been reckless to the nth degree. Even with Pakkun with her. _Especially_ because she was within the village at the time. The want for Naruto and Sasuke to appear burns intensely within her stomach. If they were here, they would diffuse the atmosphere. _Or side with Kakashi,_ her echo reminds her. Which, Sakura was very well aware of. She swallows, risking a peek up at Kakashi. His expression hasn’t changed in the last thirty seconds. He was still waiting for her to prompt the conversation. Sakura really doesn’t know how much longer she can handle the awkward silence. Maybe she really should start first? She opens her mouth.

“I’m glad you took Pakkun with you.” Kakashi’s voice interrupts the previous silence, overriding hers. Sakura blinks. Her mouth closes with a click. This… is not going the way she was expecting. At least he wasn’t angry? To be fair, Kakashi had never been particularly angry during these conversations. Only worried. Which was why Sakura tried to bring Pakkun along with her when she wasn’t with the team. She didn’t want to worry them, Kakashi most specifically. Which always felt odd, now. Because before there was no-one but her garden and her nosy neighbours. Now she has a sort of family. At least, she considers them to be as precious as one. She wonders if they feel the same. It doesn’t truly matter though. She will always care for them. Even after the days they die. The quiet, yet ever-present singing in her ears rises for a moment the thought. Not angrily. No, the rise in volume is more of an acknowledgement. That Sakura will live that long. Sakura hopes not. What is the use of a long life without the people she cherishes by her side? She knows the answer to that. Sakura looks up at Kakashi, a little less nervous. And really. Kakashi actually looks kind of happy. If she admits that it’s mixed in with a good dosage of concern as well. Sakura gives her sensei a half-smile.

“Of course sensei,” A slight blush rises to her cheeks as she admits, “You told me to.” Her admission seems to please Kakashi. He gifts her with a closed-eye smile in return. It doesn’t take long for the jōnin’s expression to grow a bit serious, however. It’s not as frantic as when he ordered her to take Pakkun with her everywhere she goes though, so Sakura is incrementally less worried.

“Why did you wait for the rest of the team to be busy?” Kakashi asks, and Sakura isn’t prepared for it. She stops for a minute, a little shocked. She hadn’t considered that at all. 

“It wasn’t intentional,” Sakura defends herself. She doesn’t outright deny it though. Because maybe the shrines _had_ intentionally waited. Even as a Haruno she didn’t really know. She’d lost her family before she could even have the opportunity to learn, after all. But _she_ hadn’t intentionally done it. That much she knew. Kakashi pauses at her words, considering them.

“I believe you,” Kakashi announces, nodding surely. “But that doesn’t explain why you never came to me about it afterwards.” Sakura is struck by the sudden fact that her sensei is right. It’s been six days, nearly a week since she went gallivanting into the Nara Forest with Pakkun. But she’s never once considered telling Kakashi. She’d forgotten. That there was someone there who cared. _It hasn’t been long,_ her echo whispers to her. She’s right of course. Sakura knows that. It hasn’t even been four months since Wave, barely six since they first graduated. That hardly erases the years she spent alone. With no adult in her life that Sakura could wholly rely on, Sakura had forgotten how much people could care. Especially when she saw most people with so little. Sakura looks up a little, catching Kakashi’s gaze for a few seconds before looking back down.

“It wasn’t on-mission,” Sakura mumbles. The truth. It’s all she has to say, really. Because it reveals that Sakura has only really told other people about her life through mission reports. That even as Team Seven grew closer, if her teammates weren’t with her they usually didn’t learn more about her. Even if they spent most of their time together. There were always times when Sakura ended up by herself. In a box with thin walls of ice Sakura had crafted herself. Sakura hunches in on herself. She’d forgotten what it was like to casually comment about her life in a conversation. Not even when talking with Kakashi himself. No matter how comfortable she’d grown with him.

Kakashi’s signature ripples. Then it reaches out. More specifically towards Sakura. It’s honestly a little shaky and radiating more than it’s fair share of awkward, but it makes it. When it reaches her, it wraps her in an aura of genuine care. Her face immediately grows hot. Tears gather in the corners of her eyes, and Sakura can just tell by the state of her nose that she’s about to start sniffling in a few seconds. Her breath catches in her throat and she almost hiccups. Kakashi’s voice reaches her ears. Both his words and his tone impossibly familiar.

“Oh, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi mutters softly. It’s terribly warm. Protective and concerned. A million things at once that Sakura hasn’t heard in years _and how in the world can Sakura hear that without wanting to burst into tears?_ Scratch that, she’s already past wanting to. She’ already doing it. And maybe she doesn’t exactly ‘burst’ into tears, but they still slip down her cheeks. Hot like tiny little soldering irons. Sakura’s actually afraid that the tear tracks are permanently burned into her skin. But even as they burn and draw hiccups from her already heaving chest, Sakura is silent. Familiar arms slowly wrap around her and hold her close. Yet Sakura still doesn’t make a sound. She couldn’t hear anything even if she did. There is nothing beyond the thumping of her heart against her eardrums. Not her sniffles, nor the hitches in her chest. Not even the sound of the chair scraping against the floor as Kakashi pulls her from the table. And Sakura feels even worse because _she didn’t mean to cry._

Crying isn’t useful. Tears don’t help anything. They can’t bring back the dead like a _*kappa’s pearl._ Nor can they fix any of the problems that cause them. Sakura holds in a breath, hoping that maybe it’ll keep her shoulders from shaking. But she must have been holding it for too long because Kakashi presses his palm against her sternum and forces her to breathe. Sakura drags in a breath somehow. And then another one. And another. Kakashi’s arms cinch around her like a vice, and he presses her ear against his chest. Maybe he hopes that she’ll mimic his breathing. But Sakura still can’t hear anything. Nor can she really _feel_ anything. So she tries to find his signature. Which shouldn’t be hard because he’s so close to her. It takes her a few seconds longer. Luckily enough, chakra signatures usually pulse close in time with their owner’s breathing patterns. Sakura tries her best to follow Kakashi’s pattern.

It takes her a bit before she can match the inhales and exhales correctly though. And it takes even longer before her body stops screaming. _Too long_ . But Sakura is already lucky that it stopped so quickly this time. Sakura sniffs, wiping her nose with her shirt. Then she pinches her nostrils, blowing hard and popping her ears. _Kami,_ Sakura thinks to herself, _Crying spells are the worst._ Sakura shuffles around in Kakashi’s grasp, manoeuvering herself so she can tuck her chin over his shoulder. She settles there carefully. A thought pops into her head. _Sasuke and Naruto._ She hopes beyond reason that the pair of squabbling genin won’t barrel through her door anytime soon. Because really, they don’t need to see her this way.

“You gotta ask,” Sakura finally musters out, muttering it into Kakashi’s shoulder. Because unlike Naruto, she can’t just say it arbitrarily. Can’t just have a memory pop into her head and immediately want to tell someone. Not anymore. Kakashi breathes quietly, saying nothing at first. Sakura insists, “I’ll forget. Or think it doesn’t matter.” 

“It’ll always matter to me,” Kakashi combats immediately. He doesn’t forget to promise though. “I’ll ask.” Sakura nods into his shoulder, accepting his answer. She wants to say thanks, but she can’t help but grow sleepy in his hold. Her sensei is warm and despite the hard planes of his body from relentless training, she finds comfort in his embrace. Finds protective walls in the arms that keep her captive. Sakura closes her eyes, her muscles losing their tension. Without a word more she falls asleep. In a room with sunflower yellow walls. With her garden hanging above her and a million and one rugs scattered across the floor. Overlapping each other just enough so that the concrete can’t be seen. The air cool but Sakura herself warm. She’s not alone anymore. Sakura knows. Of course, she does. A sigh escapes her lips. Then, she’s lost.

**_The_ ** _shrines of Konohagakure have always been well known throughout the village. In Uzushio, too, before its tragic fall. Even now with two of the shrines long left unattended, do people remember them. One of which is a man who should have long since withered away. Rot beneath the great tree, hiding underground. Rot and a seed of ivy. A parasitic ivy that thrives beneath the bark of the tree itself. It extends branches from its host’s trunk. So similar it is assumed to be the same. But they are not. And the keeper must dig in deep and pull them out. Rotten seeds are a weakness, and the storms from the sea will not water them._

_“The eldest one wakes with no one to keep. The youngest one waits and dreamlessly weeps. The middle one wanders the hills and the steeps. All of them waiting for the love from the sea.”_

_Giants can be violent as they are gentle. They can love, but they can also hate. Do not take what is theirs. Do not trample on what they have grown. Giants were not here from the beginning. They were crafted by keen eyes and skilled hands. Placed as guardians to stand taller than the mountains. Beacons of safety. Of hope. You cannot poison a giant. You cannot rot them from the inside out. If you cut them down, they will only grow back again. But this time the blossoms that climb on their backs will have thorns. And the poison on the tips will be stronger than yours._

_“The axeman came for a claim to the feat. The groundsman came with the poison to cheat. The guardsman came to rest his feet. Guess which man will have a head to keep, his head to keep?”_

_When Sakura dreams, more often than not she receives a stream of words rather than images and scenes. Her mind scrambles. She gasps, surging_ awake. She sits up in her bed, panting heavily. Her grandmother’s voice floats behind her ears.

_“We’re the kind of people whose dreams come true.”_

And that’s what Sakura is most afraid of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *kappa’s pearl; the tear of a kappa which can grant wishes, even to the point of bringing back the dead. (Personally Crafted).


	15. Six Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "His eyes meet hers, the heart within them a terrible grey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand GIANT thank yous to @YukiNagasawa and Jesi_Ki_Kage for commenting on the last chapter! I am forever grateful for your genuine thoughts and reactions of love and support. And on that note, five chapters left! Weird to think about... Anyways!
> 
> As always, please enjoy.

**_Sakura_ **doesn’t quite know why, but somehow she has been expecting this. It has been a while since Gaara had appeared at the shrine. It isn’t any sort of surprise he would show up at the Umi no Rūtsu. Unlike the other times she has met him at the odd space between night and dawn, his greeting is that if warm sand. It crawls onto her skin, almost like water. First her feet and ankles, and then everything after. All the way until the top of her neck, creeping just a bit onto her chin. It feels like an oxymoron of smooth and rough. Most importantly, it is blessedly warm. It’s ridiculous how cold Konoha becomes in the evenings.

Just like their second meeting, Sakura’s team lies asleep close by. This time though, it’s in the left main building of the Umi no Rūtsu. Kakashi may very well be awake _and_ watching, but his chakra signature hasn’t moved from where it settled earlier that evening. Sakura is pretty sure that he won’t take action unless she is very clearly in distress. They are going through the final week of training before the Final Exams, and an inter-village incident really isn’t on the agenda. She hopes he won’t interrupt them. Gaara has been kind, for what little she has seen of him. It’s hard to believe all of the rumours about him. His entry in the bingo books. But Sakura would be one of the first people to admit that the shrines changed people. Healing and change go hand in hand, after all.

One last shiver skitters up her back before the warmth from Gaara’s sand settles in. It feels safe rather than dangerous, and Sakura supposes that means she won’t die tonight. Not by Gaara’s hand at any rate. Sakura is the keeper of the shrines, and the seals seemed to bear an affection towards the Suna shinobi just as they do Naruto. They probably wouldn’t let someone in that would hurt her. As long as they weren’t in need of maintenance, that is. Sakura knows that all too well. Gaara himself sits next to her on the pier, crossing his legs instead of putting his feet in like Sakura. His sand noticeably sticks close to Sakura’s skin, away from the water, and the stream of it that leads up to Gaara’s gourd is solid. It’s different from how loose it was before. Likely to keep from getting wet, Sakura surmises. It would make it more difficult to control. But she doesn’t mind the closeness of the sand. She can’t feel any threat from the chakra coating each grain besides. Sakura doesn’t bother to turn her head towards Gaara when he greets her.

“It’s alive, little keeper.” His greeting is more of a statement than anything else, but it is a conversation piece Sakura can continue from. Because the Umi no Rūtsu is a living thing. Much more awake now that it has Haruno blood greasing its seals. An odd thing to think about, but it was the truth. Seals gifted from the Uzumaki and crafted in the heart of Uzushio’s prime really were something.

“Yes.” Sakura’s response is short. Not quite curt, though. She can feel Gaara’s chakra shifting in a muted curiosity. Enough so that she might just be able to get him to talk for a little while. Sakura’s never been a hero, or really believed in fate, but she did believe in opportunity. And more than that, despite her mess of an emotional spectrum, empathy was once of her strong points. When she chose to be. When it might not hurt her loved ones in the end. _But what about you?_ It’s a question from her echo, but they both have known the answer to it for quite some time. Gaara shifts in his seat. Sakura can feel his eyes looking at her.

“Is this your validation?” Gaara’s question is odd without any context. Sakura has read and heard too many things she shouldn’t have not to know what he means, however. It is an iteration of the phrase he most often speaks to those he kills. _Your death will validate my existence._ She’d read it in a relatively new bingo book, marked as a sign to leave or end up dead. The question Gaara asks her now though, is benign. Even if she didn’t answer, Sakura is sure Gaara wouldn’t urn murderous. He’s changed since basking in the Shima no Mura. Healed more. Even now in the Umi no Rūtsu, both chakras within Gaara seem to be content. Sakura is glad the other chakra, the one of millennia and loss, is no longer fighting its death throes. Sakura trains her eyes on the horizon of the lake. She almost can’t see the other shore with how large it is. Light bounces in that distance, likely the _**yin-lilies_ bobbing up and down in the quiet waters.

“Not quite. It is my heritage.” Sakura answers his question honestly. She has always been honest with Gaara. She knows that there have already been to many who aren’t. She hears him breathe. Measured and quiet. Almost as if there’s something in this moment he doesn’t want to break.

“Than why do you live?” Gaara’ tone is as monotone as ever, but Sakura can tell just from the words and his chakra that he genuinely wants to know the answer. Six months ago, Sakura wouldn’t have had the answer he needed. Or any answer. But now, Sakura knows exactly what to say. And so she does.

“To keep my cherished ones alive.” Both of them are quiet for a moment. Sakura clarifies, “The ones that I love.” It’s almost as if Gaara has been physically struck the way his chakra signature siezes and pulses. Dry thunder booms overhead. A sign, if any.

“Love is just a hollow emotion.” At this, Sakura actually turns her head to look at him. His eyes meet hers, the heart within them a terrible grey. Sakura has never seen green eyes like hers. Her heart pinches at seeing an old reflection of herself within them. She shifts a bit, moving to get a bit more comfortable as she corrects him.

“For some. For others, it is a deep-set attachment. A tie between people.” Sakura has never been honest about love then when she says this. Because Sakura knows both of these versions of love intimately. An image flashes beneath her eyelids as she blinks. Of an old man with half of his face wrapped in bandages, his right arm tucked within his haori on the claim it was useless. _Bandage-oji._ Hollow love. She knew all too well. But Sakura has also been lucky enough to know the other just as intimately. To know sunshine laughter and small, fond smiles in the shadows. Gaara keeps his eyes on her as he pushes further.

“Like bloodlines?” Sakura shakes her head at that. Bloodlines rarely retained the love they were supposed to breed. That was easy to see from history. Not just history though. There was one clan in Konoha that exemplified that well enough even now.

“Something more than that. But of course, there are different types of love too,” Sakura tells him. Both of the chakras within Gaara pause, rippling with interest. It almost feels as if it is the second chakra speaking from the redhead’s mouth.

“What type of love do you have?” He asks her. And really, now-a-days there’s only a few people who have her love. Truly, and unconditionally.

“For my cherished ones? At first, it was a love of friendship.” Sakura gazes out at the waters. “But now it is a familial sort of love.” That much is true. She may never call Kakashi as her father, or Naruto and Sasuke as her brothers, but they were still a family. And they always would be, deep in the twists of her heart. Even if one of them died, or abandoned the village. She would always love them. _Always._

“Friendship?” Gaara’s questioning repetition of the word is understandable. The first love a person has, and are more likely to mention is usually the love of family. Though Sakura knows that her family continues to love her from the pure lands, they are ash here. Odder than that, is for an outward admittance of family through bonds. Sakura knows it is a trait uncommon within the Land of Fire. Most specifically with shinobi and clans. At least where the history books are concerned. Sakura exhales quickly through her nose, turning her head away from Gaara and back to the lake.

“My ‘blood family’ as you may call it, has been dead for a very long time.” Sakura says, and she’s quiet for a bit afterwards. It’s been a long time since she said that out loud. To herself, much less anyone else. She remembers quite clearly the days she denied the loss of her family. The times she’d dreamed only to wake-up in a cold apartment the antithesis of their warm home.

“So your cherished ones must be your team.” Gaara says nothing for a moment. “You always seem happy with them.” It’s almost jealous how he says it. And maybe it is. But Sakura can’t know for sure. She glances at the foreign-nin briefly.

“Suna and Konoha are allies. Maybe you could come visit after the exams are over?” Sakura says leadingly. It’s almost as if he flinches, and Gaara actually looks uncertain for a few seconds. Then his eyes gain a clarity and steel to them that have somehow been absent before now. Gaara nods decisively.

“I would like for you to love me,” Gaara tells Sakura, straightforward and blunt. It almost hurts her, how awkward the word ‘love’ fumbles out of his mouth. She just knows that there is something behind the stumble. Sakura’s thoughts bounce for a few seconds before she realises something. She can feel Kakashi’s chakra signature shifting within its perch on one of the main buildings. She hurries to speak before the eavesdropping shinobi decides to act on any over-protective urges. 

“ _**Philia,_ then. We will start as friends.” Sakura asserts, and Gaara nods like anything she says will always be the right thing. There is no time to dissuade her new friend of the notion, however, because if Sakura wants adequate rest for the training Kakashi will put her and the boys though later she need to go to bed now. Thinking about it makes her sleepier though, and Gaara’ sand has always been comfortable and warm. She goes to her open her mouth. Instead of speaking she ends up yawning. Her eyes flutter. Gaara guides her drooping body to lean on his shoulder. Sakura should’ve been wary.

“Rest, little keeper. As my first friend, I will keep you safe until morning.” Gaara’s voice rumbles deep within his chest. It’s strange. He’s almost a mirror image of the protector Sakura found in Kakashi during Wave. The only difference is Gaara’s age and appearance. Idly, she wonders if she’ll wake up on the pier in the morning. Alone with the lake-wind chilling her skin. Something within her denies it though, and Sakura only falls further into sleep. She slips into murky dreams as her chakra pulse syncs up with Gaara’s. Then, silently, without notice, the Suna-nin’s second signature soon follows.

**_Sand_ ** _can both help and harm. A blanket of warmth in the cold, a vicious sandstorm to erode away the rot. The poison ivy cannot get through without being stripped to bones. A wolf prowls high above them, sinking its teeth into the hyenas looking for opportunity. Past the steps in the guard towers looming, a raven tends to the nest. In that same den, the fox demon howls, his flame burning the foes that approach them. All for the blossom in the sand demon’s lap. All for the beloved of the sea. And so, the night passes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yin-lillies; lilies with an absurd amount of yin chakra (some stories say that they hold the glow of spirits) (Personally Crafted)  
> **Philia; love of friendship
> 
> [Current Shrine: Umi no rūtsu-sha Ubusuna]


	16. Two Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The Nara notice that their shrine sort-of glows now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million tiny gifts baskets to all of last chapter’s comenteers: @YukiNagasaki, @Aldrynna, @NorthernLights025, @QueenOfTheWilis, @Akeeshoo, @TotallyNotASquid, @Anna, @Jesi_Ki_Kage, and @sunfishchamp! Many newcomers of whom I instantly loved and cherished. Thank you all for your love, support, and reviews!
> 
> As always, please enjoy!

**_The_ ** time winding down to the Final Exams feels like the clicking of a crossbow. Even without any of Team Seven entering the Exams, Kakashi has been training them into the ground. Every day closer to the big event feeling like one more click. The tension drawing the bolt back has been making Sakura increasingly more anxious. And with that anxiety apparently came a terrible bout of obliviousness. Not when observing her surroundings, of course. Just with certain connotations that didn’t specifically mean danger. Which, surrounded by the walls of Konohagakure, wasn’t much. It also isn’t that she doesn’t _recognize_ Shikamaru. Sakura just doesn’t realise what seeing the Nara heir actually _means._ Not at first anyway. She’s still in sparring mode when Team Ten shows up, their sensei in tow. 

Registering the new chakra signatures as four more combatants for the spar, Sakura easily slips more kunai into her hands, two slotted in between each of her five fingers. A flick of her wrist and the blades are flying through the air. She doesn’t have time to check her marks though, as Naruto quickly rushes towards her. Sakura had sensed him long before he appeared, however. Without a second thought, she blocks his incoming attack with another kunai. Sharply yanking her kunai back, Naruto’s kunai sticks to her blade where they clashed. It slides easily from Naruto’s grip as the surprised Uzumaki breathes harshly in surprise.

“That’s not fair, Sakura-chan!” Naruto shouts, his voice pouty as he skids back to recollect himself. Sakura remembers her teammate’s misdeeds from not a moment earlier, a figure dripping with orange paint as a fuzzy blur in her peripherals. She rolls her eyes mentally. Then she shouts back.

“Is that so Naruto-kun? ‘Cause Sasuke-kun isn’t normally bright orange.” Her answer is a whistling kunai. Sakura knows better than to just dodge it, though. She coats her hand in chakra, knocking it away from her. Not a second later and it poofs into a laughing Naruto.

“I’m just using whatever’s available to me, dattebayo!” His grin stretches a mile wide, not even the slightest bit disappointed that his little trick didn’t work. Sakura can already see his hands moving, fingers flickering with speed.

“Same here! If chakra can stick us to trees it can stick you to me,” Sakura sing-songs. Naruto flies back at her with a war cry. He waits until he’s closer to her to speak.

“That’s not the only thing sensei taught us,” Naruto retorts mischievously, “Sexy-no-jutsu!” A puff of smoke later and a starkers, female Naruto winks at her mischievously. Sakura yelps, surprised that the Uzumaki had even thought of using his ‘signature’ technique on her. Her brain stalls for a moment before her mouth instinctively opens.

“Sensei didn’t teach you that!” Sakura shrieks back at him, snapping a quick genjutsu over him. Now that Naruto looks dressed, Sakura’s blush dies down. Not in time to save herself, though. The blonde has already drawn first blood. A thin cut on her shin burns as blood begins dripping down her leg. “Tch,” Sakura hisses angrily. Now the blonde is in the lead. Dodging Naruto’s shuriken, she backflips into the middle of the other group of genin. Plus their sensei, of course.

“Hey, guys! Can’t talk now gotta spar,” Sakura waves at them once before leaping back into the fray. Leaving shallow craters in her wake, Sakura manages to nick the little troublemaker’s ear with a swipe of her nails. The blood disappears along with the chakra as she draws her hand back to her chest. Naruto hisses a bit, but as he turns to her Sakura can see his smile has only grown that much more feral.

“Couldn’t let me win for long, could you Sakura-chan,” Naruto asks rhetorically. His muscles bunch together, and Sakura knows he’s about to spring back towards her in chase. Utilizing that knowledge, Sakura veers off towards a tree. The bark splinters as she bolsters her chakra to create a controlled, backwards propulsion. She flies up and over and then---

“Alright, pups,” Kakashi’s voice cuts into the heat of the battle and Sakura goes flopping to the ground, immediately going limp, “We have visitors.” Sakura dusts herself off. _And it was just getting good,_ she thought mulishly. Her echo hums in agreement. While Sakura’s complaints are held within her head, Naruto’s and Sasuke’s are quite audible. Even if the blonde-haired genin makes sure his voice is loudest.

“But we just got even sensei!” Naruto whines loudly. The blonde is of course referring to the match between Sakura and himself. There’s a reason why Kakashi has paired Sasuke with himself for the spars. They both have had a past of clan training, after all. No matter how much Sasuke’s had been cut short. Naruto’s about five feet away from where Sakura is standing, a kunai held loosely between calloused fingers. While Sasuke looks to physically be in pain to agree with the childish genin that doused him with a gallon of paint. Paint, that quite frankly, offends the universe with how lurid orange it is.

“I’m still covered in paint, sensei. Our round barely got to start,” Sasuke says in a tone that matched Naruto’s. Kakashi merely raises a brow, and the boys fall silent. An incredible feat to be sure. If it had been just two months---no---even just one month ago, both Naruto and Sasuke would have been much more resistant. But now Kakashi has been taking a much more hands on approach to their training, rather than just leaving them to figure it out on their own. Sakura is glad for the change. What she hates is that it took the terrible events of Wave to bring them out. Kakashi is better, though. She can trust him now. And he’ll keep that trust until the day Sakura dies. Sakura trods over to Sasuke, whispering to him quietly.

“Water?” Sakura asks, implying that she’ll wash the paint off if the Uchiha wants. In order to keep them ahead, Kakashi had tested them for their chakra natures early on. Not long after Sakura woke up the Shima-no-Mura, actually. Unsurprisingly, Sasuke had shown to be fire-natured, though he had a slight lightning affinity. Naruto is a rare wind-natured shinobi. Not dual-natured, but his wind affinity was amazingly strong as if to make up for it. Sakura herself is the only dual-natured shinobi out of the shinobi of Team Seven. An even split between earth and water. Although Sakura has always suspected she had a water affinity, the earth affinity is hardly some big surprise. _She really was the perfect blend of both her parents,_ she thinks to herself with a quiet recognition of the fact. Sasuke lets out a soft _hn_ , nodding almost imperceptibly.

Sakura nods herself in return, offering her hand. Sasuke takes it with practiced ease. And despite Ino’s cut-off shriek, Sakura guides her chakra into a big ball of water where their hands meet. It’s kind of like a weird, blobby slime. The way she has it rolling over Sasuke’s body like some weird, automated tiny washing machine. It wobbles, because Sakura isn’t _amazing_ at controlling water chakra just yet. And probably, if she wanted, she could give it two cute little eyes with some mud. But Sakura doesn’t. Because Sasuke is already suffering the indignity of a blobby water puppet roaming all over him. When she goes over his face, Sakura makes sure to keep either his mouth or nose free. She doesn’t want to suffocate her teammate. Feeling her control drop a bit, Sakura rushes the blob of water to Sasuke’s ankles. It barely makes it there before the chakra link breaks and Sasuke’s feet and Sandals are drenched in water. Sakura winces a bit. Sasuke only shakes his head, using his fire-nature to dry the rest of his body off relatively quickly.

“Needs more practice,” Sasuke comments quietly, his expression and demeanor serious. Sakura nods, agreeing with him. She has only been working on the technique for a few weeks. Sakura doesn’t care if her progress is practically prodigious. If it isn’t reliable in the field, she can’t utilize it. Luckily they wouldn’t be put on any outside missions until _after_ the Final Exams. Sakura can only thank the stars for small mercies. She is sure that even if Kakashi was directly ordered by the Sandaime himself that the jōnin would find a way to decline. Her echo whispers a designation to her. A word unclaimed by any of the past figures in her life, but Sakura waves it away. She isn’t brave enough for that. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Not even within the confines of her mind. There were Yamanaka walking about after all.

“Sakura,” Ino’s voice finally makes it through her sensei’s fingers, only proving Sakura’s point, “When did you learn that? I’m the one training for the Finals!” Both Sakura and Sasuke step out a bit, enough to see Team 10, Kakashi, and Naruto heading towards them. Ino, of course, now confidently in the lead. Sakura’s grin slides onto her face like it’s always been there, a sly remark already on the tip of her tongue.

“You remember Yakiniku-Q just a few months ago, don’t you Ino-chan? _May the best shinobi win,_ ” Sakura mimics. Her rival bristles with a bubble of inflated anger. Not truly mad, just playing it up. As dramatic as she always is. Sakura laughs a bit at the reaction. She takes a few steps towards them, Sasuke not far behind.

“Says the one not even participating—” Ino starts with the triumph of a million shinobi. Sakura doesn’t let her stay smug for long, however.

“Just making sure that I only have to take the exams once, Ino-chan,” Sakura states, a closed-eye smile appearing on her face with ease. She’s seen her sensei wear one everyday since she first met him, after all. Ino only narrows her eyes.

“Must have a lot of _free time_ then, Sakura,” Ino says, stressing the word. Sakura winces a bit, immediately knowing what the platinum blonde is implying. All these weeks, and yet Sakura hadn’t visited once. Not to spar, not even to hang out. Sakura couldn’t help it! Shrine work was time-consuming. Not to mention the actual hell-fest of training Kakashi usually put them through. Still, Sakura hadn’t even _spoken_ to Ino. Not that she’d really seen her, but Sakura still feels bad. No amount of excuses will be enough. Before she can apologise though, Shikamaru’s voice cuts into the air.

“ _Speaking_ of free time,” Shikamaru pauses, making sure he has Sakura’s attention, “Anything else you do in that time aside from training?” As Sakura has been from the beginning, Sakura is confused. Not for long, but the connection isn’t drawn immediately. Until she considers what she did just over a week ago. Which was. Awakening a shrine. As is her heritage, don’t get her wrong. It’s just. It wasn’t. Near the civilian sector? Not like the Shima-no-Mura is. No, the Umi no Rūtsu is deep within a portion of the Hashirama Forest that just so happens to blend into the Nara Woods. Which means if a shrine that has been dormant for over seven years waking up and starting to glow overnight is a bit of an alarming thing. Which Sakura didn’t quite think about properly. Or even consider, really. Her expression pinches a tad. Yin-lilies didn’t glow without active seals nearby. Which, she knows, is a bit of a telltale sign. Considering the Nara Woods are chuck full of those specific nocturnal flowers. Shikamaru’s brow only raises higher over his eye. Sakura stutters a bit.

“U-Uhm,” Sakura cringes at the sheer evidence within her reaction, “This wouldn’t be about the shrine… would it?” She already knows the answer is yes, but maybe this will shield her a bit. Give her a bit of time to re-order her thoughts, if nothing else. Sihkamaru’s dead-eye stare is the immediate response given to her. And really, Sakura hadn’t expected anything else. Sakura curls in on herself a little.

“I mean, really, it’s technically Haruno business---” Sakura tries tentatively. There’s no real reason why the Nara should be worried. Well, except for maybe that it happened just outside of their backyard. Like, basically right outside of their fence.

“Sakura---” Shikamaru starts, but the aforementioned pinkette cuts him off quickly.

“It’s not hurting anything!” Sakura bursts out, though she’s immediately ashamed at the lapse of control. Shikamaru’s expression darkens. Not angrily---he never seems to be---more sadly than anything else. Which is somehow worse, because he shouldn’t be. _Why can’t he be apathetic now,_ Sakura wonders pitifully to herself, _then this wouldn’t be happening!_

“No,” Shikamaru drawls out slowly in the way he always does, “But why did you do it alone?” And maybe there’s something Sakura is missing, but she doesn’t quite understand why Shikamaru seems so hurt. Her echo whimpers like she’s been stabbed, and then a glimpse of a memory flashes behind her eyes. It’s not like Sakura immediately remembers anything. Not after so many years of repressing her childhood. She knows now that she shouldn’t have, but there was nothing she could do about it anymore. Her echo would be her life-long companion. And only that version of her would have full access to any of those memories. But the flash told her a little bit. Reminded her of a short reel of events. Reminded her exactly why she has always admired Nara Shikaku.

“I…” Sakura trails off, and she knows she sounds uncertain. Lost. _Because she’s supposed to know the Nara._ Her parents had known them. They were the other caretakers of the Umi no Rūtsu. Why hadn’t she remembered that? It feels like Sakura never remembers the important things anymore. At least, nothing important from before that event. Before she lost everything. She swallows hard over the odd lump in her throat. “Because I was? Alone, I mean?” It’s a terrible paradox to suddenly be so lost after being so confident during the spar. Worse, both her team and rest of Team Ten look just as concerned as Shikamaru does. Sakura has to force herself not to tremble. 

“Sakura-chan…” Naruto whispers, gently. Ino

says it with him, her voice just as soft. And maybe Sakura would let it break her. But she doesn’t know Team Ten’s sensei. And every part of her rebels at being vulnerable around a literal stranger. So she does the only thing she seems to know how to.

“I’ll talk to Nara-sama,” Sakura says, her voice curt yet thick with tears. And then she’s running.

_Coward._

**_Running_ **away used to always work. Or maybe it didn’t. Maybe Sakura has always just convinced herself that it will. But she knows that this time running away has only bought her a few hours at most. Hatakes are known to be trackers. Usually, this cheers her up. But her emotions are a mess right now. All twisted up and shaken. Running around her stomach like some taijutsu master. Kicking and stomping. She’s nauseous. It’s the only reason why she stops, actually. Sakura can’t breathe.

Scratch hours.Try a few minutes. She hasn’t gotten very far, and damn it all—people care about her now. Sakura has had months to get over the novelty of it. But she hasn’t. Maybe she never will. At least, not until just as many years pass. Sakura breathes in harshly through her nose. The following exhale feels like it rattles her entire skeleton, not just her ribs. Hatakes are trackers, she remembers. And despite her intrinsic need to run, she hopes that Kakashi will bundle her up once he finds her. Snatch her from her depressive reverie and set her down in sunflower halls.

She’s never trusted anyone like she has Kakashi. Not even her parents, Sakura realises now. Because while Sakura had once placed her family on the highest pedestal—a pedestal that requires perfection with nary a mistake—Kakashi received a different sort of trust from Sakura. The kind that acknowledged that he could make mistakes and yet Sakura would still forgive him for it. Which she would. And has. It’s as unconditional as human trust can get. Sakura’s sensory net ripples like a spider’s web and then Kakashi is _there._

He scoops her up from the alley floor, uncaring for the disgusting things Sakura has stained into her clothes now. Uncaring for the tears that Sakura never realised were there. Uncaring for the inconsequential things. The rumble in his chest is deep and familiar. Naruto, whom Sakura just realises is there, echoes it. When Sakura manages to peer out over Kakashi’s shoulder, she can see as Sasuke stands at the entrance of the alley. All three of them acting the same. Sakura wonders if Team Seven has cinched a bit tighter than just family. As if their bond has deepened into something that she can’t quite describe anymore.

Her thoughts—along with everything else—eventually wind down though. Team Ten, she realises belatedly, has been waiting just behind Sasuke. A literal shinobi brigade keeping any curious onlookers away. Clearly not something that her boys had thought of. Sakura blinks, and then she is making eye contact with Shikamaru. A pang of loss courses through her. For the memories, for the forgotten time. She tries to convey every apology she ever could through her gaze. Shikamaru nods slowly, and she thinks that maybe he understands. That maybe, he learned some Yamanaka mind-trick that let him hear her internal thoughts just for that moment. That at least for now, the matter is settled. At least until the Final Exams are over.

_A dainty sort of laughter interrupts the shrine’s song but for a second._

Sakura thinks it a trick of the wind, but she should know better. There’s a reason this song began. A reason why it led her to another shrine. Sakura thinks it nothing but a trick of the wind.

_But she should know better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Current Shrine: Umi no Rūtsu]


	17. One Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Falter & crumble."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cherries and cream, Y'ALL! Thank you for your patience and thank you to all of the lovely commenters: @Akeeshoo, @ShadowOfADream (LegacyFalls?), @TheOneTheOnlyNobody, @NorthernLights025, @YukiNagasawa, @Toxic_Ink, @zemblenity, and finally @The_art_of_the_fangirl (who has been ghosting my work for months oh my stars)! Thank you all for your comments and love! I am always ever so grateful.
> 
> Happy reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter! (You're in for a doozy.)

**_The_ ** location of the Final Exams is largely different from the Preliminaries, Sakura learns. For one, it’s in this old coliseum sort of building from back when the Third Shinobi War was in full swing. The tester and executioner of many young genin. Not executioner in the literal sense, of course. But to become a chūnin during wartime was no simple thing. Not when the more experienced shinobi are either injured or dead and dying out on the battlefield.

There is no time to figure out what happened basically yesterday. Not when both Ino and Shikamaru have passed into the Final Exams. Currently, the pinkette was leaning over the balcony railing. Naruto and Sasuke stood on either side of her, Kakashi the furthest away from her as he slouched to Naruto's right. The boys’ chakra signatures swirl with a mix of anticipation and excitement. A feeling almost so infectious, Sakura almost gets caught up in it. Except she can sense an underlying feeling of unease underneath Kakashi’s calm exterior. Almost as if the jonin is expecting something to happen. Sakura can feel her own trepidation rise in response. A clang from clashing kunai rings out from below.

Sakura keeps her eye on the arena. It does not have much in the area of landscape. Mostly a wide, ovular clearing of dirt with a singular tree on the far left side. Sakura can confidently assume that the tree will not stay standing there for the entirety of the Exam. The two genin that are currently battling, Sakura does not personally know. Neither their names nor villages, but it is not difficult to figure out their skill sets. Nor how to know how to defeat either of them. Clearly though, it is the fan user who will win. Sakura peers at them for a few more moments, finally being able to catch the symbols on each of their _ *hitai-ate.  _ She winces internally. So it’s a Konoha shinobi that’s being beaten so badly.  _ What awful luck,  _ Sakura thinks to herself. Because the female Suna shinobi is clearly one of those genin that are purposefully held back from becoming chunin  _ until  _ the exams. To make a statement. To show power. The match finishes with the female Suna shinobi’s quite literal fan  _ blade  _ pressed up against the Konoha shinobi’s neck.

“I forfeit,” the loser’s voice echoes throughout the arena and up into the stands. The fan blade is immediately removed from his neck and the proctor calls the match. It is only then that Sakura recognizes the shinobi as Aburame Shino. It seems that he had grown in the time since they graduated. Because for all that he lost, he had put up a pretty good fight. Prolonging it up until the timer had almost run out. The two contestants leave the arena quickly, the next match flickering by just as fast. Sakura’s attention is only regained once it’s Ino on the field, a red-headed, female Oto shinobi standing across from her. The glint of the redhead’s glasses snags Sakura’s focus as the sun shifts a fraction. If Ino can press her advantage by removing the glasses first, she can win. But it is likely that Sakura’s rival will wait to do so. In order to have a good enough exhibition of her skills. Sakura hopes that this will not turn the tide in favor of the other female shinobi.

“Yamanaka Ino v. Karin of Otogakure,” the proctor rasped, raising his arm before cutting it downwards, “Begin!” The word has not even finished echoing throughout the arena and Ino has disappeared, a flash of a kunai sparking as it whistles through the air. The redhead, Karin, takes a frantic step back as her head whips frantically around in order to find Ino. Sakura has no idea who she has been training under, but Ino weaves genjutsu through her fingers as easily as she does ribbon when tying bouquets of flowers. Sakura marvels at her rival’s progress. She’s only catching snippets and it’s clear to see that Ino has grown in leaps and bounds. She’ll have to ask Kakashi to improve her processing speed. She can’t very well rival Ino if she can’t even slip between the genjutsu that the Yamanaka has been throwing around like candy.

A moment more and the largest genjutsu snaps, allowing the crowds in the stands to rightly see what the battle really looks like. Sakura’s eyes immediately snap from the evaporating illusion to Ino’s and Karin’s true positions. Karin’s glasses are long gone, Ino’s hands harshly gripping the side of the other genin’s face and keeping the bang’s out of Karin’s eyes. Both of their gazes are blank. It only takes five seconds.

“I forfeit,” Karin’s empty voice tolls like a death knell. And for all that Sakura knew about Otogakure, it might as well be. Ino makes no movement. Neither does Karin. Finally, the proctor calls it.

“Winner: Yamanaka Ino.” Almost instantly, Ino leaps back from the redhead and both have regained clarity to their eyes. Karin goes rigid, her complexion paling rapidly. It was a terribly one-sided win. Worse than the previous match, wherein Shino had gotten soundly beaten. Sakura turns her eyes from the defeated Oto-nin, turning her attention instead to Ino, whose footsteps thump from the stairwell. The platinum blonde’s smile stretches from ear-to-ear, a sly remark already leaping from her lips.

“How was that, huh Forehead? Think you can beat your esteemed rival?” Ino teases, though the genuine tint in her eyes has Sakura grinning as well. She walks away from the railing, walking up to meet Ino as the Yamanaka strides towards their group.

“Well you would sure give me a run for my money,” Sakura teases right back, “But I’m sure I’d be able to pull a fast one on you in the end.” Ino scrunches her nose in that cute way she always does when she disagrees with something. Sakura can already feel laughter bubbling up in the back of her throat. Ino brings her hands up to her hips.

“We’ll see about that, Forehead!” Ino declares already steamrolling into a rant. Sakura has experienced many of these before, though, and indulges the vivacious girl’s speech. They talk long enough for Shikamaru’s match to begin and become heated. A particularly angry shout is what draws their attention back to the arena, where the Nara’s opponent seems to be having difficulties. Both of them turn, but Sakura’s focus is almost immediately stolen away again. Because for some reason, Gaara isn’t in the stands anymore. She had seen him with the female Suna shinobi from Shino’s fight and the puppeteer on the ground fighting Shikamaru. They had all been in a private box, usually leased to the children of important dignitaries or the children of Kage. Which leads Sakura to assume that the other two are Gaara’s siblings. She glances again at the private box, not trying to be too obvious. Even the girl is gone, the older Suna shinobi being the only one left. The sounds of battle from the arena below only serve to get Sakura more anxious. Kakashi’s suspicions must be correct. Something was going on, and whoever was behind it had waited until the Final Exams to do it. She looks back to the ground floor. Shikamaru has both the puppeteer and his puppet by their shadows, the former looking angrier and angrier. Sakura will have to ask the Nara about his ability to grab the puppet with his shadows.. When they had been in the Academy, the young heir had only been able to catch things that still had lingering chakra. Like leaves. 

It seems like the match is about to end, and Sakura’s nerves are at an all time high. 

The proctor opens his mouth. 

And then Sakura’s eyelids flutter, and she’s shaking off a genjutsu.

Her mind screams with alarms, her echo upping the cycle of chakra through her system.  _ Not good,  _ Sakura manages to think before scrambling out of the seat she had slumped into. Kakashi looks to have just blinked away as well, and when Sakura glances at the arena she thanks her lucky stars that Shikamaru is not lying dead there. There are shinobi fighting in the stands, civilians either screaming and running or dead in their seats. A hand jolts her shoulder, and instead of staring blankly at the carnage, Kakashi’s face is in front of hers. He shakes her a bit, voice low.

“Sakura you have to focus,” Kakashi orders. And for all of the anxiety knotted up in her stomach and the chokehold it has on her throat, Sakura forces herself to slip into a subordinate headspace. A headspace where instead of slipping up from worry, she can simply listen to Kakashi and her body will obey. She hasn’t been here for weeks, and it’s cold. Her face relaxes, facial muscles falling into a stoic grimace. She can vaguely feel Kakashi’s chakra flinch as she does so, but they both know that there is no time for him to scold her. Konohagakure is doubtlessly facing a full on invasion. So instead of saying what he clearly wants to say, Kakashi’s eye narrows and his aura hardens.

“Evacuate the civilians.” A heavy chakra blankets the arena. For some reason, Sakura finds it similar. As if she’s felt it before.  _ Without the threatening tinge, that it. _ Kakashi curses quietly. He looks at her, his eyes telling her that there is a million different things he wants to tell her before she goes. But what slips out instead is, “Sasuke and Naruto are needed to handle a different situation.” Sakura nods. Curt, and fast. Just as she was taught in the Academy. The bitter little civilian in her wants to bite back. Wants to argue that she’s been training too. _ So why can’t she fight with the rest of her team? _ Her echo quiets that part of her, however. There are more important things she needs to be doing. Like obeying the order she has just been given by her sensei. She turns and sprints, just about to leap from the stands and onto the walls.

“But Sakura,” Kakashi calls before she leaps, and she glances back at him, “Do not die. That’s an order.” Sakura nods, a still slightly-bitter smile decorating her lips before she’s gone. Leaping higher and higher until she’s out of the arena and out on the rooftops. It feels like she has to be anywhere and everywhere at once, cries for help drawing her in. Her orders have her pulling kunai out with the intent to kill. Not for the first time. But this will most definitely be the first time that her blades taste the blood they are baying for.

The first civilians Sakura sees are being hunted by Oto-nin. One of the civvies already has a severe wound on their arm, and it hangs limply at their side. It is clear that the Oto-nin are just playing with them. As if there would be no consequences. As if Konoha did not care for its people. Sakura grit her teeth, wrapping her chakra signature so tight that it would feel like nothing more than a bug. She flickers towards them, replacing herself with a broken tree branch. Her voice is low with fury.

“ _ **Suiton: Ribbon-eel.”  _ Two streams of water shot out from Sakura’s mouth with such speed that the Oto-nin don’t recognize the fact that someone is behind them until they are drowning. Sakura doesn’t wait. The last time she had hesitated, her teammates had gotten injured and Kakashi himself had been struck with chakra-exhaustion. If she hesitates now, the civilians will likely die. She can struggle with the morality of it later. Her echo reluctantly agrees as Sakura flips the kunai in her grip, plunging it into the back of the first Oto-nin’s neck. It sinks into the shinobi’s flesh like butter. Cutting through muscle and bones if they aren’t there. It’s stupidly easy. But civilians can’t be evacuated if they are dead. So Sakura wastes no time in turning to the other Oto-nin. This one has already broken out of her initial attack, though, and a thunderous expression rages on his face. Sakura already has another kunai in her hand.

“Nice try, little girl but—” The man is cut off by a whistling sound, and then shuriken are stuck to his body like a target. He is dead before he hits the ground. But Sakura is not the one who has killed him. Her hyper-focus evaporating, Sakura sees Team Eight reveal themselves from behind the corpse. Their sensei gathers the shuriken quickly, kicking the corpse when she’s done. Hyuuga Hinata and Kiba make their way over to the frozen civilians. Sakura can already here Hinata’s soft voice soothing them. At least she won’t be the one talking to them. Considering she just murdered two men in front of them. Well, one and a half. She’s sure her ribbon-eels certainly had something to do with how fast the second man went down. Unlike the others, Shino heads right for her, his characteristically quiet voice catching her attention. The music from the honden begins to grow louder, ringing at the highest volume it’s ever been since she first began hearing it.

“Keeper Haruno,” Shino says, his hand wrapping around her arm. Despite his usual calm exposure, his voice is frantic. Worried. Hastened. “More will come if you do not awaken the shrine.” Sakura’s eyes are wide, and she almost can’t hear him over the screaming symphonies in her head. She knows that the voices and music come from the honden, knows that somehow, just maybe, the kami are reaching for her. Shino tugs on her arm, getting her a step further down the street. Hazily, Sakura realizes that the Aburame District is only a few minutes away from where they are.

“Keeper,” Shino says again, insistently, “You must come now.” Sakura nods, processing his words. He takes off, expecting her to follow. Sakura knows that if she doesn’t, things will only become worse. She’s the only thing between her home and certain destruction.

The songs in her head reach a fever pitch, and Sakura wonders if she’ll go deaf from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hitai-ate; forehead protector  
> **Suiton: Ribbon-eel; a Suiton jutsu that has thin ribbons of water bursting forth from the user’s mouth. It seeks out the target and wraps a vice-like grip around their throats, the head of the water eels forcing themselves into the target’s mouth and nose and mouth to drown them. (Personally Crafted)
> 
> [Next Shrine: Sora no Nami]


	18. Triad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Quiet in the forest where the youngest brother weeps. Last of three, last of three."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks in the making and with school finally settling down, here is the next chapter! Thank you all for your patience, and a huge bout of thanks to all of my lovely commenters: @Aldrynna, @ShadowOfADream, @Akeeshoo, @The_art_of_the_fangirl, @NorthernLights025, @TheOneTheOnlyNobody, @YukiNagaswa, @ivettxwrites, and @zemblenity! And oh goodness, y'all are in for a ride.
> 
> As always, merry reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**_Shino_ ** is light on his feet, wasting not a single movement as he leads Sakura to the one shrine she has never been to before. She’s never had to. Not even when she was a child. She follows him first through the Aburame Compound. Another place she never got a chance to visit. It’s beautiful really, and if there had been a lake or river running through it, she might have mistaken it for one of the shrines’ outer grounds. But she can not focus on her surroundings much. Her echo is drowned out by the songs shrieking in her ears, unheard by all except for her. As they draw closer to the last shrine, the _*Sora no Nami Ubusuna_ she knows, the harmonies hone into one phrase. And when she blinks, it’s almost as if the words are branded on the back of her eyelids.

_“Keeper of hope, beauty of the sea, come to me. Come to me.”_

Sakura lets Shino lead. She doesn’t try to quicken her pace or ask any questions, because she knows that if she says something her body will stall. There are two mindsets warring inside of her. Because for all that she ran away from herself and her past, things like that don’t disappear like that. They only wait until the front fractures. Until they can slip back, bit by bit. Like right now. Even with her village in a crisis Sakura is still fighting herself. Beneath the haze of apathy and the silent structure of her orders lies a battlefield. On one side is the little priestess raised by the remnants of a once great clan. The one who knew one day she would be the shield her great-grandmother once was. And the other side is the shinobi she crafted within herself. The one who disengaged her emotions to kill and protect as her sensei told her to. Sakura steels herself. Because if there’s nothing she knows for certain but one thing, it’s that if she stops she doesn’t know which one will win. They claw at each other, sinking in deep with their teeth and trading pieces of each other. They trade barbs, stealing pieces of each other and refusing to be silenced. But Sakura can’t deal with them right now. _Yet she has to, despite the precious time it will waste._ Sakura hates herself. If Sakura stops, she doesn’t know which version of her will be left.

The path along to the third shrine should only have three gates arching over it. A winding down of tradition. From thirteen to seven, and now as Sakura counts, to three. They are each aged and taken care of. It is obvious that the Aburame has never once faltered in their duty after accepting it through marriage. Shino slows his pace as they go past the second torii gate. One more, and Sakura is not sure whether or not it will be _her_ who slips the blade over her palm. The songs do not soften in their urgency as they approach ever closer, but Sakura can finally understand the words. Perhaps it is just her imagination, but the kunai pouch strapped to her leg seems to almost burn with anticipation.

_“Keeper of hope, beauty of the sea, come to me. Come to me.”_

The voice, no matter how lovely it is, grates on Sakura’s ears like a branding iron. The shinobi inside of her that bonded itself to Kakashi is screaming. There’s an order she isn’t following. One she only followed once, and not to its full end. The little priestess inside of her screams right back, insisting that Sakura will do more good by going to the shrine. Only Sakura can do what could save the village. There are three Uzumaki in the village—blood in the dirt and chakra siphoned by seals. Only Sakura can minimize the damage being done to the village so she _must._ They fight and clash, neither of them giving in, both of them refusing to concede. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Shino stops just before the first gate. Sakura, on the other hand, does not. Her feet walk forwards despite the shouting match in her head. Her trembling hand slips into the pouch on her thigh. A clean, sharpened kunai is grasped between her fingers. Sakura stops in front of the left support beam of the torii gate. Finally, the voices in her head stop. As if both are holding their breath. To see if the blade will cut into the flesh of her palm, or if Sakura will turn back around and flee to the village streets. But both of those pieces of her should have known what would have happened from the start. Should have known which voice she would listen to. Kakashi’s baritone rests in the crest of her ears, solemn and honest.

_“Those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are_ **_worse_ ** _than scum.”_

Going back into the village streets would save the civilians, yes. But awakening the Sora no Nami is what will protect her team. Her blood on the gate and her obedience to these things she still barely believes in is the only thing that gives her a shred of hope that she will see her team at the end of it all. It’s all she’s got. So the little shinobi and the little heiress inside of her who don’t realise that fact will just have to be _quiet_ . Because Sakura is not going to chance her team’s life on an order. She is not going to lose her family by standing still. Not again. _Stars, not again._ So Sakura takes the warm kunai and weighs the blade in her opposite hand, feeling the sun blaze across her back. A single, timeless second passes. When it is over, the kunai swings in her hand loosely at her side. Crimson on the blade, blood welling in her palm. Then, Sakura presses her hand to the gate. She breathes in.

The voices explode into a cacophony of noise.

The shrine groans, almost as if it is crying. Sakura’s blood sinks into the gate, a sting at her palm and a brief flash of blue light as the seals carved into the very foundations of the Sora no Nami hiss awake. Just as with the Shima no Mura and the Umi no Rutsu, everything about the shrine seems to lighten. As if the shrine is shaking off a thousand-year slumber. The steps descending downwards seem to shake off their dirt, the seals meant for cleanliness finally activating after so long. And down at the base of the odd valley, the three main buildings of the Sora no Nami stand tall and stark against the skyline. The tallest on the left, the shortest in the middle, and the second-tallest to the right. There is no mistake in their construction and Sakura knows immediately what it means. The voices sing, like an angel choir to the undertone of spirit drums they sing. A song every Haruno has heard before.

_“Quiet in the forest where the youngest brother weeps. Last of three, last of three.”_

The importance of the Sora no Nami’s structure is one Sakura has only recently read about. After losing her family far before they would have been able to rightfully tell her, Sakura wouldn’t have known otherwise. She learned about the plans for the Sora no Nami, the tasks that were carried out and the seals carved into almost every part of the shrine. Learned about the unique choice that the Harunos before her made when establishing the shrine during the Founders’ Era. What is usually considered odd about the Sora no Nami, is the staggered placements of the three main buildings. Both the tallest and the second-tallest are on even level with one another, but the third is pushed back. A significant amount, to make a perfectly even equilateral triangle. And in the center of that triangle lies a lake. Filled with salt-water as if still married to the sea, the lake coasts out a good three miles in diameter. A platform floats in the middle of that lake. No pier leading up to it, as the Haruno’s came from Uzushio, but it floats there. Bobbing up and down in the water, chained to the lakebed at seven points. Each chain strong and thick, seals crawling over every available surface. Sakura can’t see them, but she knows they’re there. The voices crest again.

_“Keeper of hope, beauty of the sea, come to me. Come to me.”_

Sakura runs. Chakra in her step and leaping down the thirteen flights of stairs flight by flight. She pays no mind to the shrinking of her sensory net, because she knows where that chakra is going. Sakura skips across the water, barely touching the surface. A stone smoothed and loved by the sea.

It doesn’t take her long to get to the platform. It’s a heptagon, with a point facing the Sora no Nami’s main buildings and a flat side towards the entrance of the grounds. Spires reach for the sky at two-thirds her height at three key points, again creating an equilateral triangle if she traced lines to each of them. It’s made out of seastone and redwood, both materials formed and grown in the remnants of the sea. The seals carved into it ensure that it will never rot. Her eyes flicker across the platform again as she approaches. A significantly smaller heptagon sits squarely in the middle of the platform, filled shallowly with water. It is there that Sakura will stand. There, her blood will spill once more. 

Sakura steps onto the platform. The water is cold as lakespray splashes onto her sandals, the wood even colder when Sakura takes them off. She can’t wear them, she knows. Not for what she is about to do. Setting them to the side, Sakura walks slowly to the center. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid. Sakura _is_ afraid. True demons can disguise themselves as holy things, and Sakura can never be too sure if she was careful enough. 

If the symphonies in her ears were nothing but the careful planning of her family’s shadows. Her feet splash into the shallow water, this type of seastone porous and rough against her feet. She turns around. No longer facing the main buildings of the Sora no Nami, but the steps. Her kunai has not once left her hand.

Abruptly, the music stops. Ending on a sharp note. As if… 

Sakura blinks, and she can see a blur at the top of the steps. She can’t feel it with her sensory net with its radius so small, but it can’t be anything good. Shino shouldn’t have let anyone through. If this new person was here, that means the Aburame heir had been defeated. Sakura’s heart clenched. She prayed he wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. _He’d been right there._ Sakura flinches as the figure turns sharply to her. Not a second later and it is descending the steps at a furious pace, killing intent arcing to Sakura like lightning and leaving her tongue with an acrid taste. The seals around the lake’s perimeter flare brightly, and the voices, devoid of song, leap back to a fever pitch. Even louder now with the Sora no Nami’s honden so close.

_“Keeper of hope, beauty of the sea, shed your blood quickly and hurry.”_

Sakura does not wait. She switches the kunai to the hand that has already bled, and cuts her unmarred one. The blood drips, rolling to the edge of her hand. Just as it falls towards the seastone, the figure breaks through the perimeter. But they are too late, Sakura knows. Far too late. Even as they rush across the water, an unknown jutsu on their lips, they are too late.

Sakura’s blood hits the water, spreading out and sinking into the seastone like a heavy weight. 

Then she breathes in. And before she breathes out the entire world seems to shudder, tilting on its axis. The pool of water around her feet turns completely red, the seals sprawling across every conceivable surface shining a bright blue. Sakura feels her tenketsu open and bloom like flowers, taking something in before locking so tightly she doesn’t know if they’ll ever open again. But that doesn’t matter, because whatever came in shoots straight to her heart and digs in deeply. And finally, when the voices and songs erupt from the honden of each shrine like war drums for the last time, Sakura knows that she is not the only one who is able to hear.

_“The disciple came with deception on his tongue.”_

She brings her arms up, straight and away from her body. Like a cross. 

_“The teacher came with hope for the young.”_

And then with nary a whisper, nor the predilection of fate...

_“The choir came with songs to be sung.”_

Chains erupt from her chest. 

_“Guess which one found the love of the sea, the love of the sea?”_

Neither fine nor delicate, the chains tear from just over Sakura’s heart so fast she couldn’t even see them at first. The two of them shoot out and connect to the two spires in front of her, locking in with a deafening clang. She feels a third chain shoot from her upper back, just behind her heart, and it jolts her as it locks into the spire behind her. Sakura breathes heavily, her hands wrapping around the thick chains with a strong grip. Navy as the seastone beneath her feet, the chains vibrate with chakra.

_“Oh beloved keeper, speak and we will give.”_

Selfishly, Sakura wants to cry out for her family. She wants to speak their names and hope and pray that they will appear before her. But. Sakura is not selfish enough to tear them from the pure lands. To tie them down to the mortal realm they had been relieved from too many years ago. She wants to. _She wants to._ But instead, she cries one more time, the tears hot on her cheeks. Her echo whispers with her.

“I honour and I ask,” Sakura takes one more breath, “If it pleases thine divinity, construct the Gates of Wrath.” A single voice responds, the others quieted.

_“Again, beloved. Again.”_

“Protect my home and all I own,” Sakura ensures, “But if it pleases thine divinity, release the Gates of Wrath.” Thunder booms overhead, a declaration to her statement.

_“Beloved, you have been heard.”_

In an instant the skies, and everything beneath them, go dark. The shrines, however, light up as beacons in the darkness. Sealwork like iron brands against the darkness of the world, and chains stretching from each of them. Made of pure chakra and glowing just as if that were so. Sakura hears a voice curse from atop the waters. 

Then.

Like someone pulled it from the history books, Uzushio’s gift ripples into being. A domed barrier crackling with energy and guided by something much more than human.

The Barrier. And more than that, the Gates of Wrath.

The roars of two great beasts rumble throughout Konohagakure. Both a pair of celebrations and a reminder of their promise.

**_“We swore, little keeper. And to you, we will keep that promise.”_ **

Sakura closes her eyes, holding onto the chains tightly. Feeding the flow and gritting her teeth. Her lips bend and her tears fall.

‘Thank you.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sora no nami Ubusuna; Waves in the Sky
> 
> [Current Shrine: Sora no Nami]


	19. Peak & Plummet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Grey-world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my modes of creativity vary and spike, but cheer and know that it is because of you, dear commenters, that this chapter has appeared in two days. Escatic shouts pf gratefulness to the commenters of the last chapter: @Vale32, @TheOneTheOnlyNobody, @NorthernLights025, @ShadowOfADream, @QueenOfMayhem, @lunavinne, @Morrigan, @TotallyNotASquid, @fangirl_of_glitter, @zemblinity, @Akeeshoo, and @ivettxwrites!
> 
> Also, I am sorry.
> 
> And as always, please enjoy!

**_Sakura_ ** imagines that this is how her great-grandmother felt during the fall of Uzushio. Like her skin would tear away at the seams. Like she’d lost something in return for the shield she so desperately gathered, but failed to maintain. Sakura can only grit her teeth and plead to her body not to give up. She does not want Konoha to become another Uzushio. Or worse, where the village she loves is torn down, gutted, and replaced with the lounge of their enemies. Her eyes won’t open, but she can hear it. The roar of the sea. She screams just as She did when She carved the lichtenberg figuren into Sakura’s skin. The taste of lightning is acrid on her tongue. The ocean cracks thunder into her ears, a looped memory. It roars in unison with two tailed-beasts Sakura knows. Both beasts alight with a blistering chakra. One like a raging forest fire, the other like the blistering sun reflecting on the sands. Not close enough to hurt. Agile enough to protect.

Sakura cannot open her eyes to see. But she can feel the chains pulling at her chest. The tension increasing and decreasing in turns, sawing her chest cavity open bit by bit. Or at least, it feels that way. Again she wonders. _Had her great-grandmother perished not at the hands of Kirigakure, but from the payment required to protect?_ All Sakura knows is that her grandmother was the only one left to complete the burning rites after Uzushio fell. A duty and task she had only been able to complete in secret. Alone, and scarred for it. Sakura feels her body break out into a sweat from the strain. It rolls down her skin like the air is thick with heat, but suddenly all Sakura can feel is a terrible cold leeching into her bones. Her echo flickers through the insubstantial pages of a scroll Sakura once read. Remembering the true meaning of the Gates of Wrath and just why Sakura asked for them. She knows.

_A shield cannot stop what is already inside._

A shield is an external barrier. The original purpose of the Barrier, crafted as a symbol of the bonds shared between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure. After Uzushio fell, it never appeared again. Not for the Third Shinobi War. Not for the night of October 10th. Not seven years ago, when she’d lost everything. 

_A shield cannot stop what is already inside._

The only Barrier Sakura has seen is her own. Vibrant with energy with Sakura as a conduit. Like Sakura’s chakra system is the control helix of a strengthening seal. The only Barrier Sakura has seen is her own. She may just die for it.

_And a shield should never be held up alone._

The Gates evaluate her sensory net, picking it apart and figuring out who all belongs to Sakura. They retrace every bit of the history concerning her sensory net’s growth. All through her childhood as Sakura picked up on more and more signatures. Sakura knows this because she can feel the foreign energy crawling up her spine. Walking down her chakras system in flashes and leaps. Until finally, the Gates settle where the top of her neck meets her skull, pulsing. A long moment passes. 

Then the Gates arc like lightning, splitting into three and coursing through the chains protruding from Sakura’s chest. The pieces flicker, and then they are gone. Sakura would feel relieved, but she can already feel her mind growing hazy. She can already feel herself slipping.

_“Beloved.”_

The voices call, and Sakura wonders if that is what her great-grandmother heard before the shrine array killed her. The songs slowly creep back into her ears, sorrowful and apologetic. Sakura feels her grip slip on the chains. Her hands are clammy. She would be surprised if she had any water left in her at this point. Sakura feels her sensory net flicker. She hears her echo begin to scream before her voice is cut off. And then, she can’t _feel_ anymore.

_“Beloved.”_

They whisper. But Sakura knows what they have taken from her now.

_“Beloved.”_

Sakura’s ears turn deaf. For the first time in her entire life, she is left on her own. In her mind. In her body. In her spirit.

_A shield should never be held up alone._

If it is, something is always lost in the process.

Sakura.

**_A_ ** _tear finally slips from her cheek and into the bloodied water at her feet. She is alone, strung up like a martyr in a shrine her family once called home. Chained to a sealing array. She doesn’t know if the voices it lets her hear are of angels or demons. She can’t be sure that what she’s done has saved anybody. Can’t assume with confidence that the Gates didn’t smite her people too. A tear finally slips from her cheek, and when it reaches the water at her feet the red disappears. Like it’s been cleaned._

_There’s nothing inside of her now. She’d thought her ancestor’s had long paid the price for this exchange… But perhaps nonhuman things have a different definition for ‘equivalent’. Perhaps the only way to pay was to lose more than she already has. To lose her sister in all but a physical shell. To lose the pieces of herself. There’s nothing left inside of her. Nothing but an empty shell where even her screams don’t echo._

_When she claws at the walls, her echo doesn’t stop her. Her echo, whose name she now knows after losing herself inside of here._ **_Hibiki._ ** _The girl who is her but isn’t. She’s left traces herself everywhere. Notes of Kakashi has said; pictures of Team Seven and her family posted up side by side. There’s a futon in some corner of this endless space, and all it does is make the cavern in her chest ache worse. When she claws at the walls. Hoping to dig some remnant of herself out, Hibiki doesn’’t stop her. She can’t._

_Because Hibiki’s ashes lie in a pile on the floor, her named stone settled in the center of it. An eternity and a day passes until the voices Sakura is so sure have to be demons at this point trickle back in._

“Beloved.”

_She wakes up._

**_Or_** at least, she’s supposed to have woken up. Instead, her eyes open only to reveal a world of grey. _And a visceral blue_ , she realizes as she looks down at what are supposed to be her hands. It’s like a shadow world has layered over the world she once knew. Dressing everyone up like a visual version of her sensory net. Sakura’s heart siezes at the thought. _Her sensory net._ She refuses to dwell on it. Sakura already knows what has been taken from her. When she stands, she slips from her body like it is a thin sheet. One that she had twisted deeply into during the night, but someone had carefully untangled her. A discomforting feeling, to say the least.

Glancing back, Sakura hates how right she was back in that desolate eternity. Her body really _is_ strung up like a martyr. Not that Sakura is the one who lost herself. _No. That was Hibiki._ Except they were one, weren’t they? Closer than sisters. Closer than anything. Sakura _had_ lost herself. 

She blinks, and her body comes back into focus. It’s scarred and covered in blood. Sweat stains her clothes. It’s ripped in places and a wound on her side bleeds sluggishly. Sakura hadn’t even _realized_ that she’d been injured. She couldn’t pin-point when. She could barely even theorize. But there was no time for that, and her mind grew emptier as she continued to gaze at her body. Strung up as the center point between three chains pulled ever so tightly, she looked dead. Sakura watched her chest move up and down. So miniscule an untrained shinobi would never be able to see it.

Sakura turns away, walking across the platform and off of it.

There’s a body floating in the water. There’s no outline of chakra surrounding it, and a clear plume of smoke rises from it in thick puffs. Just as Sakura moves to draw closer, the Gates sing and a bolt of lightning hits the body. Likely for the second or third time. Sakura can’t smell the ozone in this state, but when the smoke clears this time the body has already sunk beneath the surface of the lake. It is more than likely that the body was her pursuer. The one that had charged at her with such crippling killing intent that she almost dropped her kunai. The one that had almost made her fail.

Sakura won’t weep over the loss, but it’s the only body she’s seen so far. She won’t know if the people she had called hers survived until she leaves the shrine grounds. Won’t know that her village survived until she makes it past the steps and sees Shino. Until she sees him, nothing is for certain. Maybe not awake but breathing. Maybe not moving but certainly not dead. Shino is a marker. At least, for the Aburame. To see if the Gates had even gone as far as to kill it’s most recent caretakers.

Sakura makes it to the steps. But when she takes a step forward to climb up them, it’s almost as if she blinks and suddenly she’s at the top. Almost as if between one second and the next, something picked her up and then immediately set her back down. Sakura breathes, but it doesn’t do anything. There’s no air here. There’s something else to it, too. Something that happened before the eternity.

_She can’t_ **_feel_ ** _anymore._

But she can’t quite remember what happened then, in those trickling seconds. They weren’t taken. Not like Hibiki. Not like the pieces of her that were scooped out like watermelon. But they _are_ hazy. Mixed up and swirled up with the intensity of her pain and strain. She would think about it more, but she’s walked a few feet.

And there’s Shino.

  
  


He seems so unnaturally still, but when she presses her fingers to his pulse point his heartbeat is strong. But perhaps it isn’t his heartbeat? Maybe it is the pulse of his chakra. A chakra pulse is always a more sure sign that Shino survived whoever attacked him, so Sakura will take it. Knowing that the Aburame heir soothes her. Having learned what she came to learn, Sakura continues along her ghostly walk.

She supposes that it means something, when she is plucked up again. Her eyes can’t perceive the movement as she is moved midstep. There is no blur or even telling that she’s moved. Nothing but the change of scenery from greyed out flora and water mechanisms to the middle of the village streets.

Sakura is placed squarely in the center of the road. In front of her lies Ino’s body. Her heart cat aches in her throat, and even though in this greyed out plan she can’t really understand the feelings behind it, she still kneels almost instantly. Her body trembles. From head to toe. Sakura is more afraid of checking her rival’s body than she was Shino’s, but that makes sense. Shino is a passing friend. A loose blood-link that did not hold onto her. Ino, however, had been fierce in her claim. From friendship to rivalry, and even in the new type of rivalry she and Sakura had crafted together these last few months. Ino was the worst thing she could lose after Hibiki. 

_But Hibiki is already gone._

Sakura leans forward, stretching her arm out. Her pointer and middle finger remain together and forward even as she bends the other fingers down. She almost reaches Ino’s neck when a voice calls out to her. It isn’t the voices that she has been hearing for months. She would have flinched at the harsh syrup of their tones. No. This voice was different. Deeper, a clear masculine baritone. But unfamiliar.

“She’s alive you know,” the voice calls out to Sakura. “They all are. The Gates don’t target your home.” Sakura turns her head sharply. Because how can a stranger know about the Gates? The voice isn’t her father’s nor her grandfather’s. It isn’t faded in the whispery way her memories speak to her. No, this voice is strong and clear. Vibrant. Almost… alive. When her hair falls away from her eyes, Sakura finally sees the owner of the voice.

He’s tan, hair a dark brown with his eyes even darker. His hair is long, reaching midway down his back and seeming to sway in an invisible wind. The armour he wears is vaguely familiar. Red like the old metals often found during the Warring Clans era. As if just like the Barrier, he has stepped right out of one of her old history textbooks. Sakura doesn’t want to believe it. But she knows who he is.

“You must be pretty strong for a Haruno. Holding onto the chains by yourself the way you did.” Senju Hashirama compliments her, his tone a tinge serious. 

Sakura wants to gape. She doesn’t know how or why Shodaime-sama is standing right in front of her. She wants to know, but it’s not the only question burdening her mind. Sakura knows that the Senju and Uzumaki have long had an intertwined history. But Uzumaki Mito hadn’t been born into the Haruno lineage. Just how did Senju Hashirama know about the Gates? The answer she would get is limited. Sakura blinks as Hashirama speaks again.

“ Even _*Chuya_ -chan ended up needing Mito-ai’s help when she tried doing that,” Hashirama muses. Then he looks back at Sakura, his eyes staring into her own. “But you shouldn’t stay here, little blossom. And neither should I.” Sakura flinches a little, not expecting for him to look so intently at her. But Sakura’s Shodaime Hokage snaps his fingers as soon as he finishes speaking, and the world begins dripping away. It’s nauseating and forces Sakura to close her eyes.

It’s like she’s been plucked from the world again. But this time she is not spared from the voices.

_“Beloved.”_

Sakura gasps, choking on air as she struggles to grow re-accustomed to her own body. And then, she screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chuya; pure and clear like water.


	20. Passing Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Flores de papel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers and ever so beloved commenters: this is it. The end of the second book.
> 
> A deep valley filled with gratitude and flowers to all of the commenters of the last chapter: @ivettxwrites, @TheOneTheOnlyNbody, @NorthernLights025, @quietowl, @Morrigan, @TotallyNotASquid, @Akeeshoo, @zemblenity, @Jesi_Ki_Kage, and @ShadowOfADream (an honourable mention, as I believe that I have updated far too quickly for the darling to be able to comment how they wish). 
> 
> Apologies will assuage nothing.
> 
> As always, please enjoy.

**_When_ ** the chains finally loosen, Sakura’s entire body sags disgracefully. Her skin feels like razor blades have been dragged through every inch of it. If she isn’t dead yet, it feels like she will be. Sakura wants to whimper or groan, but her throat feels closed. She has been drawn silent. The only sounds she can make are inhales and exhales. Her eyes are oddly dry. _She can’t cry._ She doesn’t know how long it takes her to lift her eyes. But when she does, there are cherry blossom petals floating across the skies. The cherry trees that line the lake are in full bloom. It feels like there’s no room for anything else in Sakura’s vision.

She supposes it’s a sick sort of irony. That the day of her death would be just like her birth. Cherry blossoms out of season. Too young. Too soon. Easily scorched by the heat. With flowers made of paper and roots made of concrete. They say theoretically, babies cry when they’re born because they’re in pain. They say evidently, shinobi cry when they die, because to fail is to be slain. Sakura thinks, some don’t have to cry. They’re dry-eyed. 

Because they were successful. They finished the mission. Saved who they needed to. And even though they're dying, beaten, and scarred… they won. She won.

Maybe she’ll never get to do what her team dreamed of. Because before Sakura was too afraid to let herself dream. She would keep that part of herself that hoped and wished on a tight rope. Leashed in to somehow protect herself from the disappointment. To help herself cope after she was left alone. Sakura has never had many dreams. She made sure not to.

But now, dying like a martyr at her family’s shrine and never knowing anything beyond… She kind of wishes she had dreamed. Just once.

She continues to wish as she forces herself to sit up. The chains continue to loosen, coming back to her slowly. No longer in the grey-world, she’s been settled back into her body. Sprawled across the center of the platform. Alone, more now than ever. Sakura used to always appreciate the silence. Now she wants it to leave and never return. _Ah,_ Sakura thinks as she blinks once in a drowsy manner, _the silence._

Sakura can’t hear the voices anymore. There is no song or choir. No faint instruments playing in the background. Weeks of unending noise silenced in an instant. All of the supernatural sound from the hondens of each shrine have also disappeared. Sakura’s ears ring empty, free. The music had been gentle, once. She misses Hibiki. But missing does nothing. Her mind still echoes emptily. There is nothing but the swishing waters of the lake.

Sakura sighs, wincing as the chains disappear back inside of her. There is a clink as a link taps against her collarbone. And then they are gone. Not a single trace of their existence but for her ripped shirt. Now that they’re gone, Sakura slumps backwards again. Her upper back holds onto gravity and hits the stone below her suddenly and sharply with a wet _thump._ It takes the breath out of her.

Maybe it’s been hours. But no one except Shino knows where she is. He’s alive, but likely not awake yet. If people are looking for her she doesn’t know. She can’t know. Sakura can’t hear anything over the waves. And she’s got nothing left to feel them with. Not her sensory net. Not even her skin. She can’t feel anything other than the pain that seems to keep cutting into her skin. So even if they did come, she doubts she could even feel them through touch.

Sakura can’t hear anything over the waves. The water. Except now there's a persistent pattering of light splashes. Like something flat slapped onto the water’s surface before immediately raising again and then repeating. 

Like someone is running on the lake.

Sakura wants to sit up. She wants to force herself to stand because even though she’ll never be able to sense them again, she prays to the stars that it’s her team. Her dry eyes instantly become wet with tears because _stars, she just wants to be held._ She wants Kakashi’s strong arms to wrap around her like a stronghold, Sasuke and Naruto covering her back. She wants Ino to pet her hair and then braid it. Hell, she even wants Gaara to be there. His quiet vigil and shield of sand around all of them. Keeping the rest of the world out. Sakura wants her family _damn it._ She needs their love.

And yeah. She’s willing to die for them. But she never wants to _lose_ them. To sit in some isolated place with a part of her always wondering if they’re safe. If any of Team Seven was going to die---it’s selfish wish, she knows---she wants to go first. She never wants to deal with the loss. With the aching caverns in her heart. Not again. Not when if they died, it’s likely she would follow. Abruptly, Sakura’s ear twitches. The smacking sounds are closer now.

She can hear voices on the wind. Then, one clear baritone.

“Sakura!” Kakashi’s voice booms across the lake in a frantic shout. It’s desperate and searching. Hearing him is like the key to her throat, and Sakura suddenly finds her voice at his call.

“Ka… kashi… sen… sei,” Sakura croaks out. Even with such little being said her throat is on fire. Unseen knives drag down her vocal chords and when she opens her mouth to speak again, there’s nothing. She’s returned to silence. She’s only allowed to despair for a little while. Because maybe thirty seconds later she can feel a presence at the edge of the platform. Her whole body bobs up and down with it a little as that someone steps on.

“Sakura.” She has never heard Kakashi’s voice so gentle. She can’t hear his footsteps anymore, but when she opens her eyes, there he is. She cranes her neck up. Just to see him more clearly. More tears well up in her eyes.

“I thought I told you not to risk yourself again,” Kakashi says, his voice quiet. Sakura remembers. But she couldn’t promise it then, so she’d simply nodded. She hadn’t given her word. She kind of wishes she had. But even then, the kami were no silent creatures to the ones that could hear them.

‘Wasn’t me.’ Sakura mouths, a wry smile barely on her lips. Kakashi shook his head. He takes a step closer.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto’s voice.

“Sakura.” Sasuke’s quiet alto.

“ _*Kura_ -chan!” Ino.

“Keeper.” And the last in Gaara’s voice.

Sakura doesn’t know how the Suna-nin found his way over the shrine. How any of the genin were allowed to go gallivanting off after a village-wide invasion. But she wasn’t going to question it. No, instead Sakura accepts it with a smile. Her family is here. _They’re here._

Sakura smiles, pained and beautiful. Then her eyes roll into the back of her head and her skull cracks down onto seastone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kura; competition; match
> 
> [Last Shrine: Sora no Nami]


End file.
